Airlink Pumas stumble against the Vodacom Bulls
The Airlink Pumas suffered their second consecutive defeat in the Carlin Currie Cup on Friday August 16 at the hands of the Vodacom Bulls, dropping them out of the top four on the log standings.
Following a disappointing outcome against the Vodacom Bulls, the Airlink Pumas have fallen out of the top four in the Carling Currie Cup with three games to go before the semi-finals.
The most recent round of fixtures in the Currie Cup marked the first of the cross-pool fixtures as the Pumas lay fourth heading into their clash with the table-topping Bulls. The Pumas named a much-changed line-up for the game following their loss to the Lions the week before.
There were three changes to the forward pack and a host of changes to the backline which more closely resembled the one that featured in the SA Cup.
Clinton Swart (fly half) and Stefan Coetzee (right wing) returned to their SA Cup positions while Tino Swanepoel (fullback) and Wian van Niekerk (inside centre) were brought back into the side to reprise their roles.
Darren Adonis, meanwhile, moved to the left wing and David Brits was brought in at outside centre, while Currie Cup top try scorer, Phiko Sobahle, was given a rest on the bench for the game.
The clash with the Bulls kicked off at Mbombela Stadium at 17:15 on Friday, August 16, and the Pumas soon garnered the first scoring chance of the game, but knocked the ball on only a couple of metres short of the try line. Handling errors and unforced errors were the prevailing theme of the opening exchanges for the Pumas, and the Bulls were quick to capitalise.
The Bulls raced to a 26-0 lead before the half-hour mark, scoring two tries due to them capitalising on mistakes made by the Pumas.
Desperately in need of a switch in momentum, the Pumas seemed to find their feet in the final 10 minutes of the first half, finally demanding more of the Bulls’ defence. This earned them a try after the half-time hooter, sparking hope of a second-half comeback.
Swart uncharacteristically missed the conversion and the score was 26-5 in the Bulls’ favour at the break. The Pumas seemed to be an entirely new side in the second half, coming at the Bulls like bats out of hell in the first 10 minutes.
Three tries brought the Pumas back into the game with the score 26-24 and the match firmly back in the balance.
Momentum was now firmly in the favour of the home side, and the visitors from Pretoria were on the back foot. But another Pumas knock-on a few metres shy of the try line seemed to be the shift in momentum that the Bulls needed.
They countered with a try of their own shortly thereafter, and some slick hands and a brilliant offload by Springbok Canan Moodie set up the Bulls’ fifth try, scored by former Pumas player, Devon Williams. The Pumas soon found themselves 16 points behind after a sixth try for the Bulls with the score now 40-24.
Some wayward kicks in the final 10 minutes cost the Pumas much-needed possession as they failed to spark a second comeback. The match went the way of the Bulls, as they won 40-24. The Pumas still received a much-needed bonus point, but fell out of the semi-final places when the Hollywoodbets Sharks beat the Toyota Cheetahs on Saturday.
They now have a tough run-in in the final three games of the round-robin stage. Their first task will be taking on the NovaVit Griffons in Welkom this weekend, before they travel to Cape Town to face DHL Western Province on September 1, and finally welcome the Cheetahs to Mbombela on September 7.
The Pumas’ point scorers were:
Tries: Eduan Swart, Darren Adonis, Tino Swanepoel, Clinton Swart.
Conversions: Clinton Swart (2).
