‘We should have won’, says Stonehouse, as another big one gets away

Pumas coach Jimmy Stonehouse lamented that another “big one” had got
away after they went down 35-31 to the Cheetahs in Nelspruit in their Currie Cup clash at the weekend.

Stonehouse believed haywire goal-kicking, as well as an injury to big lock Le Roux Roets and a harsh yellow card to No 8 Willie Engelbrecht cost them a certain win.

“It’s a game we definitely should have and could have won, but we couldn’t get a kick through the posts and that sunk us,” Stonehouse said.

Between flyhalf Devon Williams and scrumhalf Ginter Smuts, the Pumas missed five of eight attempts at goal.

“Then came the yellow card, which I suppose was a yellow because it was against the head, but it’s extremely difficult to accept something like that,” Stonehouse said.

Engelbrecht went in low for an attempted tackle, but after the Cheetahs player ducked there was a clash of heads, which left referee Rasta Rashivenge no choice but to draw a yellow card.

Rashivenge was also in the spotlight after the final hooter when he ruled that the conversion of the Pumas’ last try by hooker AJ le Roux was good, but the flags of the assistant referees stayed down while replays showed it was definitely wide.

“It’s always difficult to say things like this afterwards, but in the last scrum the Cheetahs held our No 6 flank back,” Stonehouse said.

“But we always know we have to be better than those things.

“Again, we had the opportunity to put away one of the big teams but once again we didn’t use it.”

In the time that Roets was off the field, the Cheetahs scored four tries after being reduced to 14 men with the yellow to Engelbrecht.

“That 10 minutes with a player short was very tough on us, but the effort the guys had been putting in was unbelievable,” Stonehouse said.

“And at the end of the day we have to learn how to finish the job.”

Stonehouse felt their scrums and lineouts were good, but the loss of Le Roux was a crucial blow.

“Losing the spirit in the camp is never great, but we keep on fighting and we work hard every day and it will remain that way because we are busy shaping something great for the future,” he said.

Following a bye next week, the Pumas still had the Lions and Bulls left at home, and Stonehouse wanted to win of those games to reward his team for their tough losses.

“Who knows, we might topple one of the big ones that we still have
left in the competition.”

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