Pumas dethrone the Kings; Griquas win

The Pumas were too strong at home for the EP Kings team as they won their Vodacom Cup quarterfinal 30-19 (half-time 17-9) at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit on Friday.

The Pumas were full value for their win, with the Kings behind throughout the match and simply outmuscled and out-skilled by the home side, raising the spectre of serious problems in Super Rugby next year.

The Pumas team were physical, gutsy in defence and took their chances, their reward being just their second appearance in the Vodacom Cup semifinals.

The Mpumalanga side made a great start as they pressured the EP Kings from the kickoff, leading to a poor clearance. They then rumbled a rolling maul to within sight of the tryline, earning a penalty, which they tapped, prop Ashley Buys then crashing over for the opening try from close range.

Fullback JC Roos, whose powerful boot played an important role in the victory, converted.

EP Kings flyhalf Justin van Staden kicked a good penalty in the seventh minute (3-7), but the Pumas played their way back into opposition territory. They showed their liking for phase play with four rucks set up going left and then another three going right, before wing Deon Scholtz went dashing down the touchline before passing inside for hooker Torsten van Jaarsveld to charge over the line.

Eight minutes later, flank Jaco Bouwer, one of the Pumas' champions, went streaking through a gap in the Kings' defences to score their third try and, with a 17-3 lead, the home side were well on their way to keeping their title hopes alive.

The Pumas defence was at times a little over-enthusiastic and Van Staden was able to kick penalties in the 23rd and 38th minutes to reduce the gap to 17-9 and keep the Kings in the game.

The Kings ended the half and began the second playing against 14 men after Pumas flank Renaldo Bothma high-tackled fullback SP Marais and was yellow-carded.

The one-man advantage gave the visitors the opportunity to score their only try, six minutes into the second half, when strong runs by eighthman Jacques Engelbrecht and lock Johan Snyman, and slick work by replacement scrumhalf Boela Abrahams, who gave the Kings some spark, provided Marais with the space to dot down.

Van Staden's conversion made the score 16-20 and the Pumas had been given a little scare. They immediately upped their game and the pressure told on the Kings.

The ball was knocked-on inside the EP 22 by Marais after a risky pass from centre Scott van Breda and, from the scrum in the shadow of the posts, prop Corne Fourie, with the support of Bothma on his back, burst straight through the defences to score the match-winning try.

Roos added the Pumas' remaining points with the conversion and a 70th-minute penalty, while Van Staden could only kick one of the three penalty attempts he was given in the second half.

Scorers:

Pumas:
Tries: Ashley Buys, Torsten van Jaarsveld, Jaco Bouwer, Corne Fourie
Cons: JC Roos 2
Pens: Roos 2

EP Kings:
Try: SP Marais
Con: Justin van Staden
Pens: Van Staden 4

* Meanwhile in the other quarterfinal played on Friday fullback Rudi Vogt finished with 21 points as the Griquas ended the title defence of the Pampas XV with a 26-18 victory (half-time 17-6) in Kimberley.

Griquas seemed to have the match in the bag when they led 23-6 after 50 minutes, but a dazzling comeback by the Pampas XV closed the gap to 23-18 before the home side tightened up, used their forwards to regain control and ended the match the stronger side.

The Argentineans did not help their cause by conceding a flood of penalties at the breakdown, allowing sharpshooter Vogt to kick seven of them, and their adventurous style of play was not helped by some dreadfully poor passing in the first half.

Griquas were happy to grind out the victory in the knockout match, using their hardworking forwards, who were an exceptionally well-knit unit.

The Pampas XV were keen to keep ball in hand and, after Vogt and flyhalf Benjamin Madero traded penalties, it got them into trouble as Griquas eighthman Leon Karemaker forced them back over their own tryline to concede a five-metre scrum.

The Griquas scrum was rock-solid all game and, from that wonderful platform, flank Marnus Schoeman tried to go straight over the ruck to score. He was initially repelled, but then showed great strength to carry the ball wide and pass to lock Ligtoring Landman, who lived up to his name by dotting the ball down from some distance away.

Vogt missed the conversion, but the Griquas scrum continued to dismantle the famous Pampas set-piece, the disrespect reaching a peak when they nabbed a tighthead in the 14th minute, leading to an offsides penalty, which Vogt slotted from just inside his own half and from quite an angle (11-3).

The Pampas XV then put their counter-attacking approach to good use when wing Facundo Barrera and scrumhalf Martin Landajo burst into Griquas territory and won a penalty, which Madero kicked (11-6).

Griquas were happy to keep the ball among their forwards for the rest of the half, their pick-and-goes, rolling maul and powerful scrumming earning Vogt two more penalties (17-6) before half-time.

Two more Vogt penalties early in the second half, the first after a wonderfully precise and penetrative rolling maul, pointed to normal service being resumed after the break.

At 6-23 down, the Pampas perhaps had good reason to stick with their attacking approach and wing Manuel Montero burst clear at the back of a lineout before his chip-and-gather created the space for outside centre Gabriel Ascarate to score at the corner flag.

The try of the match followed on the hour mark as most of the Pampas team handled the ball from the kickoff, the handling and support play all coming together as Madero scored after the home side eventually ran out of defenders. The flyhalf's conversion was good and the visitors had closed the gap to just five points.

Much of the pressure Griquas were under was a result of their own mistakes and they tightened up again significantly in the last quarter to seal the win.

Good driving play and ball-retention, followed by a swift attack down the left, resulted in a penalty, successfully converted by Vogt (26-18), but the fullback did miss a third shot at goal with three minutes remaining.

It did not matter though and the defending champions were left to rue their lack of technical precision and structure. The Pampas XV had played the more exciting rugby, but the more structured Griquas team were able to feed off their mistakes, always a crucial factor in knockout rugby.

Griquas will now face the winners of the match between the Sharks XV and the Blue Bulls in Durban tomorrow in the semifinals.

Scorers:

Griquas:
Try: Rynhardt Landman
Pens: Rudi Vogt 7

Pampas XV:
Tries: Gabriel Ascarate, Benjamin Madero
Con: Madero
Pens: Madero 2