The New Nation Pumas will host Tafel Lager Griquas this afternoon in Nelspruit @ 16h00. Both teams will be looking to consolidate their place on the Carling Currie Cup Log with the Pumas who could move to first place if they could earn the full 5 points on offer.
The Pumas have beaten Griquas in Nelspruit 22-17 in their last Currie Cup match, while, Griquas won 23-22 in March during the Preparation series.
The Pumas had a brilliant win (39-10) against the Lions in their Round 1 fixture at home. Their Round 2 visit to Pretoria ended in a 27-32 loss to the Vodacom Bulls in a game many said they deserved to win.
Griquas already played two games this season. They lost their first game at home (16-30) against the Cell C Sharks and then sent the Cheetahs back to Bloemfontein with a convincing 31-10 win last weekend.
Prediction - The Pumas should be the favourites as their structured gameplan has proven to be extremely successful. The Griquas are still "struggling" to perform consistently. Griquas will be banking on captain Steenkamp to counter the physical play of the hosts while Eduan Keyter will have to be guarded at all times. Pumas should win this, just.
Jimmy Stonehouse, head coach of the New Nation Pumas announce his squad with only two changes. At the back, Ginter Smuts replaces Chriswill September who moves to the bench. Upfront, Ignatius Prinsloo replaces Marné Coetzee at tighthead who drops out of the matchday 23 altogether.
Tafel Lager Griquas head coach Scott Mathie made three changes to his forward pack. Captain Ruan Steenkamp returns at the side of the scrum with Gideon Van Der Merwe dropping to the bench. Ewald Van Der Westhuizen is replaced by Andries Schutte at the tighthead, while hooker HJ Luus replaces Janco Uys who drops to the bench.
Pumas: 15. Devon Williams, 14. Tapiwa Mafura, 13. Erich Cronje, 12. Matt Moore, 11. Etienne Taljaard, 10. Eddie Fouché, 9. Ginter Smuts, 8. Willie Engelbrecht, 7. Phumzile Maqondwana, 6. Francois Kleinhans, 5. Pieter Jansen van Vuren (captain), 4. Darrien Landsberg, 3. Ignatius Prinsloo, 2. Simon Westraadt, 1. Dewald Maritz. Replacements: 16. Hendrik van Schoort, 17. Eduan Swart, 18. Ruan Kramer, 19. Brandon Valentine, 20. Kwanda Dimaza, 21. Chriswill September, 22. Wayne van der Bank, 23. Jade Stighling.
Tafel lager Griquas: 15. Masixole Banda, 14. Daniel Kasende, 13. Jay Cee Nel, 12. Andre Swarts, 11. Eduan Keyter, 10. George Whitehead, 9. Stefan Ungerer, 8. Hanru Sirgel, 7. Sibabalo Qoma, 6. Ruan Steenkamp (C), 5. Cameron Lindsay, 4. Jeandre Leonard, 3. Andries Schutte , 2. HJ Luus, 1. Andrew Beerwinkel. Replacements: 16. Janco Uys, 17. Mox Mxoli, 18. Tijde Visser, 19. Mzwanele Zito, 20. Gideon Van Der Merwe, 21. Raegan Oranje, 22. Theo Boshoff, 23. Ederies Arendse, 24. Tiaan vd Merwe, 25. Henco Beukes, 26. Chris Hollis.