Steval Pumas fall just short against Griquas

Aug 29 • General News • 2075 Views • Comments Off on Steval Pumas fall just short against Griquas

The errors from the first two matches of the Currie Cup were largely absent from the Steval Pumas game at Mbombela Stadium on Friday night, but a lack of discipline and several slips in concentration allowed Griquas to grab a 41-35 victory.
The Steval Pumas put in a much improved performance in both attack and defence during a thrilling, evenly matched encounter.
Opposing kickers Francois Brummer and Clinton Swart exchanged penalties in the opening minutes, before Steval Pumas left wing JP Lewis went over next to the corner flag to give the hosts the first try of the match.
The 8-3 advantage was eliminated a few minutes later when Griquas scrumhalf Rudi van Rooyen scored down the blindside from the back of a scrum. The Pumas took the lead again through a converted Jannie Stander try in the 24th minute, but suffered a setback when hooker Frankie Herne received a yellow card for a high tackle four minutes later. Van Rooyen got his second just before the halftime whistle to give Griquas a 23-18 lead going into the break.
Griquas widened the gap in the first minute of the second half through a converted Alshaun Bock try. The home side showed huge determination to put pressure back on Griquas, and were rewarded with tries from Marnus Schoeman and Frankie Herne to take a 32-30 lead.
Clinton Swart was on song with the boot, punishing the Steval Pumas for penalty offences and taking his team into a 36-32 lead with less than 10 minutes to go. The match was put to bed when a fumbled Pumas ball gave Griquas flank Wendel Wehr an easy run in to the try line. After a penalty from Brummer, the Steval Pumas were unable to score the last gasp converted try needed for victory.
“We played much better rugby at times tonight. Unfortunately, we slipped two easy tries that they converted. We scored our four tries that we were really happy about and we really competed well in set pieces, but still not good enough on the night. The slipped chances were really disappointing,” said Steval Pumas coach MJ Mentz.
SCORERS:
Pumas: Tries: JP Lewis, Jannie Stander, Marnus Schoeman, Frankie Herne
Conversions: Francois Brummer (3)
Penalty: Francois Brummer (3)
Griquas: Tries: Rudi van Rooyen (2), Alshaun Bock, Wendel Wehr
Conversions: Clinton Swart (3)
Penalties: Clinton Swart (5)