In spite of their loss to the DHL Western Province in the ninth round on September 1, the Airlink Pumas still have a chance to make the semi-finals of the Carling Currie Cup.
Ahead of the clash with WP at the Danie Craven Stadium, the Pumas were handed a massive lifeline by the Suzuki Griquas, who had beaten the Toyota Cheetahs in Kimberley two days earlier. The Hollywoodbets Sharks had also secured the third semi-final spot the day before courtesy of a massive win over the NovaVit Griffons.
This meant that the battle for the fourth and final semi-final spot would be between the Cheetahs and the Pumas, and the Cheetahs’ loss to the Griquas meant the Pumas were in prime position to take advantage.
But in their way stood a WP side, which, while having been underwhelming for most of the season, was bolstered by the return of Springboks Manie Libbok and Steven Kitshoff.
The hosts had the better of their visitors from Mpumalanga in the opening exchanges, crossing the whitewash on three occasions with Libbok missing all three conversions. But two converted tries in the final 10 minutes of the half combined with a Clinton Swart penalty handed the visitors a 17-15 half-time lead.
The lead would change hands a few times in the second half as momentum shifted regularly. Trailing 32-27 the Pumas won a penalty in the WP half with three minutes to go. They opted to go for three points in the hopes of returning and possibly finding another score to win the game after the kick-off.
This gamble didn’t pay off, and WP instead scored another try after the hooter. This denied the Pumas a losing bonus point, meaning they left Stellenbosch empty-handed as they failed to notch up a try-scoring bonus point as well. WP won the encounter 39-30.
This means the Pumas are now one point behind the Cheetahs, with whom they will face off at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday, September 7. This essentially makes this weekend’s encounter a ‘quarter-final’, after which the winner will progress to the semi-finals.
Either way, one of the last two winners of the Currie Cup will be knocked out of the competition this Saturday. Fans at Mbombela Stadium will be hoping it won’t be the men in pink though. The match will kick off at 13:30.
-
-
-
-
