Rugby
Stonehouse lauds the character of his team─── MORGAN PIEK 07:27 Mon, 27 Jun 2022
The coach of the Pumas, Jimmy Stonehouse, has lauded his team's character to beat the Griquas in Kimberley on Saturday to be crowned as the new Currie Cup champions.
The Pumas dominated the match throughout for a 26-19 victory to win the Currie Cup for the first time in their history.
Both teams were no doubt the form sides in the Currie Cup for the last month, but on the day the Pumas simply made better use of their opportunities.
Stonehouse said that they executed a lot better and the goal from the onset was to make use of the opportunities and when tries were on over the points had to be scored.
“Both sides worked very hard for this and it is sad that there must be a champion on this day," said Stonehouse.
“For rugby it was a great spectacle. I feel sad for the Griquas for the type of rugby that they played.
“If I think back, we worked very hard on getting points in our away game.
“We decided that if we can beat teams away from home and score tries, we can win the game. We showed it against the Cheetahs by scoring six tries there.”
The Pumas scored three tries in the final with Devon Williams, Eduan Swart, and Willie Engelbrecht all dotting down. The Griquas' only try was scored by the Cheetahs-bound winger, Munier Hartzenberg.
Eddie Fouché converted one try and landed three penalties, while for the Peacock Blues, George Whitehead converted Hartzenberg's try and successfully landed four penalties.
Morgan Piek OFM Sport
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