Pumas fight back but fall short against Irish

MATCH REPORT: Emerging Ireland recorded back-to-back victories on South African soil, beating the Pumas 28-24 on Wednesday.

Both teams scored four tries a piece at the Free State Stadium.

It was a game of two halves as the Irish dominated the first stanza which saw them rushed to a 21-12 lead at the break.

However, an impressive second-half show saw the Currie Cup Champions Pumas fight back in the second half.

The Pumas started the match on a very positive note minute however a loose pass in the middle of the park proved costly as Emerging Ireland set up a counter-attack.

The visitors piled on the pressure and after multiple phases, Irish sevens star Chay Mullins made his way over the line for the first try of the match. Jake Flannery added the east extras for the 7-0 lead.

Minutes later, the 19-year-old James Culhane powered over the line for their second converted try, making it 14-0 after just 10 minutes of play.

It went from bad to worse for the Pumas.  The Currie Cup champs went down to 14 men after Shane Kirkwood was handed a yellow card.

With a man short on defence, Pumas struggled with Emerging Ireland’s quick attack and after some great hands by the visitors,  flyhalf Flannery found a gap and dived over the line for his team's third try, 21-0.

In the absence of Kirkwood, Pumas managed to get on the score thanks to a try by André Fouché.

The score boosted Pumas’ confidence, they set up another effective driving maul which saw Eduan Swart power his way over the line. Tinus de Beer added the extras for the seven points.

Just before the break Emerging Ireland had a chance to add to their tally, however, Pumas' defence were solid and the visitors had to settle for a 21-12 lead at the break.

The Irish side continued their dominance in the second half, great interplay between Cormac Izuchukwu and Mullins saw Culhane over the line for his second try of the day. Flannery added the conservation for the 16-point lead.

Just on the hour mark, Pumas hit back. Thanks to a huge scrum the Pumas set up a lethal attack which was rounded off by Sebastiaan de Klerk.

The centre added another five-pointer four minutes later. De Beer added the extras to narrow the deficit to just four points.

It was a dramatic conclusion,  the Pumas put in their final attack at the sound of the hooter however their efforts were halted and the Irish emerged victors.

The scorers:

For Pumas:

Tries: Fouché, Swart, De Klerk 2

Cons: De Beer 2

For Emerging Ireland:

Tries: Mullins, Culhane 2, Flannery

Cons: Flannery 4

Yellow card: Shane Kirkwood (Pumas, 13 – head-on-head collision)

Teams

Pumas: 15 Devon Williams, 14 Jade Stiglingh, 13 Sebastiaan de Klerk, 12 Wiaan van Niekerk, 11 Etienne Taljaard, 10 Tinus de Beer (captain), 9 Chriswill September, 8 André Fouché, 7 Kwanda Dimaza, 6 Jaco Labuschagne, 5 Shane Kirkwood, 4 Malembe Mpofu, 3 Ignatius Prinsloo, 2 Eduan Swart, 1 Corné Fourie.

Replacements: 16 PJ Jacobs, 17 Etienne Janeke, 18 Simon Raw, 19 Anele Lungisa, 20 Franna Kleinhans, 21 Giovan Snyman, 22 Gene Willemse, 23 Diego Apollis.

Emerging Ireland: 15 Chay Mullins, 14 Ethan McIlroy, 13 Antoine Frisch, 12 Cathal Forde, 11 Andrew Smith, 10 Jake Flannery, 9 Michael McDonald, 8 James Culhane, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Cian Prendergast (captain), 5 Brian Deeny, 4 Cormac Izuchukwu, 3 Roman Salonoa, 2 Diarmuid Barron, 1 Callum Reid.

Replacements: 16 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 17 Josh Wycherley,18 Sam Illo ,19 Tom Ahern, 20 David McCann, 21 Ben Murphy, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Shane Daly