Pumas coming for Griquas’ SA Cup crown

An epic battle is expected when the Pumas host Griquas in the SA Cup final in Nelspruit on Saturday.

The match will kick off at 6.30pm and be broadcast live on the SuperSport Rugby channel.

The final – a repeat of the 2024 decider which Griquas won 46-24 to capture the first SA Cup title – is in fact the fifth decider in the last eight years between the two fierce rivals.

The Pumas won the SuperSport Rugby Challenge final 32-20 in Oudtshoorn in 2018, and Griquas got their revenge in the same competition a year later with a 28-13 victory in Saldanha Bay.

In 2022, the Pumas won the Currie Cup final in Kimberely 26-19, and last year Griquas took the honours in the SA Cup against the men from Mpumalanga.

The Pumas won three of the five most recent games between the two teams, with the sides each winning twice in their four meetings last year (in the Currie Cup and SA Cup), while the Pumas ended Griquas’ incredible unbeaten run since the start of the SA Cup with a 31-29 triumph earlier this month.

MORE: Pumas, Griquas set for another epic encounter

As their league result showed, there is not much to choose between the two sides. Both are prolific with ball in hand on attack, with the Pumas having scored 81 tries in their nine league games, just one more than Griquas.

While the teams were separated by three log points at the end of the league phase, the points’ difference between them was only two points – 351 scored by the Pumas to 349 by Griquas – which points to two very evenly matched sides.

In last weekend’s semi-finals, the Pumas had to work hard for their 31-29 win over the Boland Cavaliers in Nelspruit, while Griquas claimed an epic 41-38 victory over the Cheetahs in Kimberley.

Griquas’ experienced captain, flyhalf and ace goal kicker George Whitehead currently leads the SA Cup point-scorers list with 103, three more than the Griffons’ Andrew Kota. The Pumas duo of Danrich Visagie and Clinton Swart have 98 and 90 respectively.

Griquas’ Dylan Maart and Gurswhin Wehr have each scored 14 tries, four tries more than their teammate Cameron Hufke and Boland’s Lunathi Nxele.

PUMAS – 15 Tino Swanepoel, 14 Lundi Msenge, 13 Sango Xamlashe, 12 Wian van Niekerk, 11 Darren Adonis, 10 Danrich Visagie, 9 Ross Braude, 8 Willie Engelbrecht, 7 Ruwald van der Merwe (c), 6 Ntsika Finsanti, 5 Jeandre Leonard, 4 Heinz Bertram, 3 Eddie Swart, 2 Darnell Osuagwu, 1 Etienne Janeke.
Bench: 16 Jan-Henning Campher, 17 Stephan de Jager, 18 Dewald Maritz, 19 Kwanda Dimaza, 20 Andre Fouche, 21 Russwill Fredericks, 22 Jay-Cee Nel, 23 Stefan Coetzee.

GRIQUAS – 15 Cameron Hufke, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Zane Bester, 12 Mnombo Zwelendaba, 11 Gurswin Wehr, 10 George Whitehead (c), 9 Thomas Bursey, 8 Gustav Erlank, 7 Marco de Witt, 6 Lourens Oosthuizen, 5 Albert Liebenberg, 4 Dylan Sjoblom, 3 Cebo Dlamini, 2 Janco Uys, 1 Leon Lyons.
Bench: 16 Gustav du Rand, 17 Eddie Davids, 18 Junior Banda, 19 Athenkosi Khethani, 20 Phumzile Maqondwana, 21 Bobby Alexander, 22 Tylor Sefoor, 23 Tom Nel.

Photo: Johan Orton/Gallo Images