Pumas land first Currie Cup title on historic day as Griquas, Kimberley left heartbroken

The Pumas outplayed Griquas in all departments to land a first-ever Currie Cup title in Kimberley on Saturday in front of 11 000 roaring fans at Griqua Park. 

It was a fantastic spectacle that saw two of the country's smaller unions sharing the spotlight, throwing everything at each other, and while it ended in heartache for the hosts, coach Jimmy Stonehouse and his Pumas will be celebrating long into the night. 

For the men from Kimberley, the wait for a first Currie Cup crown since 1970 continues. 

For the Pumas, who stormed to a 26-19 victory, this is a day sweeter than any before and easily the crowning moment in the union's history. 

This result wasn't in the script for the Griquas fans, but sport can be cruel, and as much as this will hurt for them, the Pumas' story is as incredible as any seen this season. 

Having finished fourth on the Currie Cup log, Stonehouse's men had to score two tries in five minutes to down the Cheetahs in their Bloemfontein semi-final last weekend just to book their place in this fairytale affair.

On this day, they were far more clinical and bossed proceedings for the majority of the match.

They were 18-9 up at half-time, while Griquas were awful in that period, error-ridden with a lineout problem that never went away. 

Griquas did find some rhythm in the second half when things were at their most desperate, but they had left themselves far too much to do by then.

In the end it was three Pumas tries to just one from Griquas. 

Die-hard fans had started arriving at the venue since 08:00, with drinks flowing and braais blazing in the popular grass area outside the stadium that had turned to mud thanks to heavy rains during the week. 

The Griqua Park turf, however, was in near-immaculate condition with the grounds staff having used the super soppers from the Diamond Oval cricket ground to help dry the playing surface. 

The energy in the air was palpable, and by the time cries of "Griquas, Griquas, Griquas" roared throughout this small, intimate stadium to welcome the hosts onto the field, Kimberley was rocking. 

The Pumas, though, were fastest out of the blocks and Eddie Fouche gave them a 3-0 lead inside the opening three minutes after an illegal tackle following a rolling maul. 

When referee Cwengile Jadezweni awarded Griquas a penalty from the resulting restart, however, the crowd erupted. 

George Whitehead levelled matters at 3-3, and in the early stages the Griquas faithful were making their collective voices heard with every tackle, pass and decision that went their way greeted by an explosion of emotion. 

The frantic nature of the opening quarter, perhaps down to a touch of over-excitement and a few nerves, saw early errors from both sides that stunted any try-scoring opportunities, but a second Whitehead penalty on 20 minutes gave the hosts the lead for the first time in the contest. 

Where the Pumas settled and got better, Griquas got worse. 

Off a lineout inside their own half, the Pumas got an attack going thanks to a couple of soft Griquas missed tackles.

The defence was sucked in, and the underdogs launched it right in the area where they had numbers in. 

Flyhalf Tinus de Beer threw a long pass to Devon Williams that initially looked forward, but the Pumas fullback rounded off down the right flank and the try stood as Griqua Park was silenced. 

Fouche then knocked over the conversion from the touchline, and suddenly, the Pumas were 10-6 up. 

Griquas were not helped by their malfunctioning lineout that saw two trips into the Pumas 22 squandered, but Whitehead then relieved the damage of the try somewhat with a 40m penalty to make it 10-9. 

As the half developed, the Pumas who began to look more dangerous with ball in hand and a stunning line break from No 13 Sebastian de Klerk had the Griquas defence scrambling once more. 

It resulted in a penalty in front of the uprights, and Fouche had no problems nudging it over to give the Pumas a 13-9 lead.

When the restart from Whitehead went sailing into touch on the full, Griquas took another step towards completing a pretty woeful first half. 

They continued to give away penalties, and the Pumas were smelling blood. 

The visitors turned down three points, set up a maul in the left corner that absolutely steamrolled the Griquas defence for hooker Eduan Swart to go over unchallenged. 

Fouche missed the conversion, but the Pumas had done enough to manufacture an 18-9 lead at the break and Griquas would have to dig deep in the second period if they were going to pull this off. 

The silence that hovered over the stadium as the players disappeared into the tunnel spoke volumes: this was not the way it was supposed to happen.

Not today. 

Whatever coach Pieter Bergh told his players at half-time, it happened quickly, because Griquas were out for the second period long before their opposition. 

Johan Mulder replaced Stefan Ungerer at scrumhalf, and Griquas, with the wind at their backs, set about their recovery with everything on the line.

On 42 minutes, though, the Pumas thought they had scored what would have surely been a try too many for Griquas when a moment of magic from Williams - he kicked ahead, gathered and went over - looked to have been good.

Replays revealed, however, that the pass to him from De Klerk had gone forward. 

It was a moment of fortune that Griquas so desperately needed, but that optimism was short-lived. 

Fouche knocked over another penalty, but when Willie Engelbrecht went over on 51 minutes following a routine blind side attack from the Pumas, Griquas were buried. 

Fouche missed the conversion, but simply everything was going wrong for Griquas, and they found themselves 26-9 down and not playing anywhere near the quality of rugby to suggest they could launch a comeback. 

Then, on 58 minutes, they found the spark that they had needed long, long before.

Right wing Munier Hartzenberg showed sublime pace to finish off after Griquas had attacked from open play, and Whitehead's conversion from out made it 26-16. 

There was still time for the hosts, but they continued to let themselves down - the lineout continued to be a problem - whenever they found themselves in a promising position. 

Much of that was down to a superb Pumas rush defence that was clinical and impactful throughout. 

Griquas' day was summed up on 77 minutes when Whitehead, always so accurate with the boot, crushed a routine penalty into the left-hand upright. 

He then nailed one from 50 metres in the 80th minute, meaning Griquas had to go 80 metres after the hooter to score in the last play of the game. 

It was not to be, and when Griquas were penalised for holding on the half-way line, a sea of pink swarmed the turf in elation while the hosts were left strewn. 

Scorers:

Griquas -  19 (9)

Try: Munier Hartzenberg

Conversion: George Whitehead

Penalties: Whitehead (4)

Pumas -  26 (18)

Tries: Devon Williams, Eduan Swart, Willie Engelbrecht