Sunday Times E-Edition

Pumas claw their way to maiden Currie Cup

Having waited 52 years to host another Currie Cup final in Kimberley, the weight of expectation took its toll on Griquas

By LIAM DEL CARME

Griquas (9) 19 Pumas (18) 26

Griquas – Try: Munier Hartzenberg; Conversion: George Whitehead; Penalties: Whitehead 4.

Pumas – Tries: Devon Williams, Eduan Swart, Willie Engelbrecht; Conversions: Eddie Fouche. Penalties: Fouche 3.

● Naas Botha famously coined the phrase “the Currie Cup is not won in May” but the Pumas proved it can be done a month later, and then some.

Having waited 52 years to host another Currie Cup final in Kimberley, the weight of expectation took its toll on Griquas, who were riddled by error and imprecision as the Pumas surged to their maiden success in the world’s oldest provincial competition.

The Pumas prevailed 26-19 in the final, having taken a long route to the trophy. They won away to the Cheetahs last weekend in the semifinal and they again got the job done on the road yesterday.

They owe a great deal to their grizzled coach Jimmy Stonehouse, Mr SA in 2005. Stonehouse — who started his career as the province’s Craven Week coach and also took in stints in Russia and Japan — finally got the prize he so coveted.

He tellingly remarked afterwards that the trophy does not belong in a museum, a sentiment that has been expressed in recent times as the status of the competition has been brought into question.

If diamonds are forever, so too are memories of the hosts’ Currie Cup victory here in 1970. That, however, seemed to weigh down the hosts.

The build-up was cloaked in nostalgia. It is one from which Griquas struggled to emerge.

But who can blame them. In 1970 the Currie Cup had meaning and purpose. It meant as much to the urban dweller as it did to his country cousin.

The SA rugby landscape, and indeed the country, has transformed since. There are potholes the size of Kimberley’s most famous landmark around Mzansi.

Increasingly the Currie Cup’s very existence is being questioned as priorities drift further afield. That debate intensified this season with the arrival of the United Rugby Championship (URC), while the SA participation in the Champions Cup next year will put it into even sharper focus.

Theories abound about what to do with the grand old competition but it is days like these its stock receives a sudden surge.

This final carried sentimental value, a currency modern rugby is loath to trade in.

However, an enthusiastic crowd of just under 11,000 would have given SA Rugby food for thought.

“Skop Kimberley se gat” (kick Kimberley’s butt) read a poster printed by a Mbombela newspaper in the crowd.

That’s what captain Willie Engelbrecht’s men did as they built a Stonehouse in defence.

It was the Pumas, who looked more incisive and committed to the cause. It were they who stunted the home team with rock solid defence, not just breaking their momentum but forcing errors.

Often they backed up their brick wall defence by deploying a jackal to exact a turnover. By the 65th minute the visitors, quite incredibly, had missed just three tackles.

A Pumas line break yielded the game’s opening try in the 22nd minute when they hit left, then right, leaving fullback Devon Williams unmarked near the corner.

Things got worse for the hosts when Engelbrecht was at the end of a move in which the hosts were caught napping down the left flank.

That try stretched the score to 26-9 after 50 minutes, leaving the hosts a mountain to climb.

That seemed to induce more urgency from the hosts who came close but were denied by an important steal from Eduan Swart.

Soon after, however, the Pumas made a rare lineout error and from the resultant play Griquas hit left before right wing Munier Hartzenberg came on the angle and slipped past two defenders. It proved a false dawn.

Sport

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2022-06-26T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-06-26T07:00:00.0000000Z

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