The Airlink Pumas opened the Tbilisi leg of the Toyota Championship with a convincing 64-21 win over the Iberians with winger Tino Swanepoel scoring five of the Pumas' ten tries.
Despite the final scoreline, the Iberians looked a lot better in the second half after the Pumas had raced to a 40-14 lead at the halftime break.
The first 10 minutes of the match were scrappy, with the Iberians “dominating” early on. However, the Pumas clawed their way into the Iberians' red zone, and eventually Clinton Swart crashed over to make it 05-00.
The Iberians hit back in the 14th minute. Estanislao Bay intercepted a pass and ran from within their own half to score. Bautista Güemes converted to give them a 07-05 lead.
Three minutes later, Tino Swanepoel finished off a great team try in the corner. Swart converted, extending the Pumas' lead to 12-07.
In the 20th minute, Swanepoel beat several defenders on his way to the Iberian tryline. Swart converted again for a 19-07 lead.
The Pumas' fourth try came in the 23rd minute when Wian van Niekerk bulldozed his way over. Swart was on target to make it 26-07.
Gustav du Rand added another try in the 26th minute, which Swart converted to push the score to 33-07.
Great hands by the Pumas then allowed Swanepoel to score his 3rd try in the corner in the 33rd minute. Swart converted for a 40-07 lead.
With time up on the clock at the end of the first half, the Iberians struck the blindside. Martiniano Cian beat several Pumas defenders with brilliant feet to score their second try. Güemes converted to leave the Pumas leading 40-14 at halftime.
The Pumas started the second half quickly. Slick hands again put Swanepoel into space to score his 4th try in the 43rd minute. Bradley Giddy converted to make it 47-14.
In the 46th minute, great work by Bradley Giddy's kick-pass resulted in Alfonso Isaacs scoring to move the score to 52-14.
After a patient build-up, Pumas’ flanker André Fouché crashed over in the 64th minute to extend the lead to 57-14.
Following a disallowed try, the Iberians attacked with purpose in the 68th minute. Nicolas Infer scored under the posts, and Augustin Cittadini converted to make it 57-21.
Swanepoel had the final say in the 75th minute, scoring his 5th try thanks to soft hands by Giddy. Giddy converted to seal the final score at 64-21.
Scorers:
Iberians: Tries: Estanislao Bay, Martiniano Cia, Nicolas Infer. Conversions: Bautista Güemes (2), Augustin Cittadini.
Airlink Pumas: Tries: Clinton Swart, Tino Swanepoel (5), Wian van Niekerk, Gustav du Rand, Alfondso Isaacs, André Fouché. Conversions: Clinton Swart (5), Bradley Giddy (2).
Teams:
Iberians: 15 Pau Aira, 14 Gautier Minguillon, 13 Iñaki Mateu, 12 Alvar Gimeno Soria, 11 Martiniano Cian, 10 Bautista Guemes, 9 Estanislao Bay, 8 Vicente Boronat, 7 Gabriel Velez, 6 Matthew Thomas Foulds, 5 Imanol Urraza, 4 Antonio Suarez, 3 Lucas Santamaria, 2 Santi Ovejero, 1 Raul Calzon. Replacements: 16 Vicente Del Hoyo, 17 Cristian Moreno Fernández, 18 Iker Aduriz, 19 Ignacio Pineiro, 20 Valentino Rizzo, 21 Nicolás Infer, 22 Augustin Cittadini, 23 Beltran Ortega.
Airlink Pumas: 15 Jay-Cee Nel, 14 Alfondso Isaacs, 13 Banie Britz, 12 Wian van Niekerk, 11 Tino Swanepoel, 10 Clinton Swart, 9 Thomas Bursey, 8 Marvelous Mashimbyi, 7 Willie Engelbrecht (c), 6 André Fouché, 5 Tiaan de Klerk, 4 Stephan Krugel, 3 Bryan le Roux, 2 Gustav du Rand, 1 Jaco du Toit. Replacements: 16 Jan-Henning Campher, 17 Stephan de Jager, 18 Barnard Nortjé, 19 André Goedhals, 20 De Wet Marais, 21 Christiaan van der Westhuizen, 22 Bradley Giddy, 23 Qamani Kota.