Ken Borland

Ex-Pumas loose forward Renaldo Bothma returns to the Cell C Sharks starting line-up in place of the injured Willem Alberts for their Vodacom SuperRugby match against the Toyota Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday after director of rugby Gary Gold announced a team with four changes on Thursday.

Mpumalanga Pumas coach Jimmy Stonehouse has praised his team’s intensity in their surprise 28-21 victory over the Free State Cheetahs at the Mbombela Stadium after a long time out of the Currie Cup Premier Division.

The Pumas were playing their first game in the top flight since 2011, but they out-scored the Cheetahs by three tries to two and were worthy winners on the opening weekend of Currie Cup action.

“It was our first game up in the Premier Division and the players were obviously a bit tense, but the intensity was brilliant and the guys refused to lay down,” Stonehouse said.

“We were under pressure in the first 10 minutes and it was great to come back the way that we did.”

The Pumas coach is undaunted by the scale of the task ahead of them in the Premier Division and said he expects his team to win at home.

“Playing at home is a great advantage for us, but if we want to make the semi-finals then winning at home is a must, we have to win away from home too. It’s obviously good to start with a win like that at home, but at least getting bonus points away from home is what we’re aiming for,” Stonehouse said.

There has been an outpouring of angst in the Free State recently after the Cheetahs’ dismal SuperRugby performance and new coach Rory Duncan was fielding a largely new-look side in Nelspruit.

“The majority of the side only came together two or three weeks ago, so mistakes were understandable. But we made too many simple mistakes, knocking-on four or five times in the Pumas’ 22. It’s early season though, there’s obviously still a lot of work to do and I wasn’t too disappointed by the effort,” Duncan said.

The Free State coach was heartened by his team’s ability to hang on to possession for long periods, but admitted his side had been dominated by the Pumas in the scrums.

“We battled in the scrums, but we still managed to hang on to possession through numerous phases, a few times we took the ball from our own 10m line to their 22. We had opportunities to win, but mistakes cost us.

“But you have to give credit as well to the Pumas and Jimmy for the way the guys came out, they were fired up. They’re a good side and if you don’t bring your A-game to Nelspruit, you will get caught out,” Duncan said.

“Our scrums obviously went well and we also set up our mauls brilliantly, but we made life difficult for ourselves by losing a couple of lineouts. We also need to play into space a bit more,” Stonehouse said.

 http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/CurrieCup/Stonehouse-praises-Pumas-20140810

The Border Bulldogs were rolled over easily as the Ford Pumas thumped them 41-10 (half-time 24-3) in their Absa Currie Cup First Division match at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit on Saturday.

The scoreline certainly did not lie in terms of the Pumas’ dominance as their powerful pack took firm control in damp conditions and their backline had more pace and precision than their Bulldogs counterparts.

The bonus-point win maintained the Pumas’ challenge for top spot, although the EP Kings are still in prime positon with an eight-point lead over the Mpumalanga side with two rounds of league play remaining.

The Pumas took a little while to settle in front of 14 305 people at Mbombela Stadium, but they opened the scoring in the 15th minute as star fullback Coenie van Wyk crossed for a thrilling try.

Border flyhalf Reinhardt Gerber pulled three points back for the Bulldogs with a 22nd-minute penalty, but the rest of the half was a cruise for the Pumas as they comfortably adapted to the wet conditions, thanks to their gritty forwards.

Scrumhalf Shaun Venter, who sparked numerous attacks, went over for the Pumas’ second try two minutes later and centre and captain JW Jonker showed his experience as he glided over three minutes later.

The reliable boot of flyhalf Naas Olivier accounted for all three conversions and the well-travelled 30-year-old also kicked a penalty in the 34th minute to ensure the Pumas reached the break in firm control.

Olivier also began the second-half scoring with a penalty, stretching the lead to 27-3 and, just two minutes later, the Pumas quickly spread the ball wide and wing Wilhelm Loock, who gave a typically passionate display, crossed for the try.

Despite looking all at sea for the last half-hour, the Bulldogs did manage to score a try of their own through centre Neill Jacobs, with Gerber turning it into a seven-pointer with the conversion.

But the Pumas rounded-off an action-packed display as Venter punched his way through for his second try and Mpumalanga’s fifth overall.

The Punas will go into their last two round-robin games needing to make up ground on the Kings to qualify for a home final.

The crunch game is next Friday against the Kings at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, with the Pumas then finishing the league section against the Griffons back at the Mbombela Stadium.

SCORERS

FORD PUMAS – Tries: Coenie van Wyk, Shaun Venter (2), JW Jonker, Wilhelm Loock. Conversions: Naas Olivier (4), Carl Bezuidenhout. Penalties: Olivier (2).

BORDER BULLDOGS – Try: Neill Jacobs. Conversion: Reinhardt Gerber. Penalty: Gerber.

http://www.supersport.com/rugby/currie-cup-first-division/news/120915/Pumas_thump_Bulldogs_in_Nelspruit