Pumas desperate to prove that last year's Currie Cup success was not a bolt of lightning

The Pumas may be the defending champions but it is the Cheetahs who go into Saturday's Currie Cup final in Bloemfontein with the weight of expectation.

The Cheetahs, who boast greater Currie Cup pedigree and who topped the competition's points table, are widely expected to surge to a seventh title.

They are the side who have hit form at the back end of the campaign and with fanatical and boisterous home support they will be hard to beat.

In the Pumas, however, they have willing and able adversaries. The Pumas are an emerging force on the domestic firmament and the Currie Cup title they won last year came as rich reward for the advances they've made.

They will be desperate to prove last year's success was not a bolt of lightning but that they can regularly rain on more established teams' parades.

They did so splendidly last weekend when they downed the Sharks in Durban, again proving how adept they've become at playing the percentages required in knock-out rugby.

The Pumas have now developed the habit of gaining strength as the pressure cranks up, a character trait that should again serve them well in the final.

It is perhaps the Pumas' ability to stay in the fight and not yield when the pressure is on that has Cheetahs' coach Hawies Fourie most concerned.

Sure, his team packs a punch up front and they ask many questions in attack but when your opponents don't know when they're beat the collective is dragged into the unknown.

Fourie knows if his team plays to their potential they should get the job done but the Pumas, despite an ability to play free spirited rugby, are equally skilled at engaging trench warfare.

Pumas strongman and coach Jimmy Stonehouse is demanding structural integrity in his team's scrums and mauls. He noted the Cheetahs' potency at the maul and their proficiency at the ruck.

If his team is to combat the Cheetahs in the open, it would be from broken play and turnovers.

He perhaps expects his team to play on the back foot, with the proviso they deliver some stinging counter punches.

The Cheetahs though, have lost some of their front row potency with veteran prop Schalk Ferreira having to yield to concussion protocols. Nqobosizwe Moxoli takes his place at loose head and the Cheetahs will no doubt lament not having Ferreira's wherewithal at the set piece.

As expected Ruan Pienaar will take his place at flyhalf, while Siya Masuku will start the game off the bench. Both have been superb for the Cheetahs at flyhalf but Pienaar's experience and trusty boot earned him the starting nod.

With both teams bringing encouraging tackle completion stats into the final, Pienaar will be as crucial to the Cheetahs as Tinus de Beer will be for the visitors.

The guile and tactical boot of Devon Williams also holds promise for the visitors and the Cheetahs will likely keep close tabs on the roving fullback.

Though Stonehouse has urged his players to ditch their 'team from a small town' inferiority complex, their head-to-head results against the Cheetahs suggest they've long made the mental shift.

The teams boast five wins each from their last 10 clashes with the Pumas holding the advantage of late with three wins from the last five.

A Cheetahs win will restore the Currie Cup's natural order, though it is highly debatable whether the competition can be deemed 'out-of-order' should the Pumas win again.

Teams

Cheetahs — Tapiwa Mafura; Daniel Kasende, David Brits, Reinhardt Fortuin, Cohen Jasper; Ruan Pienaar, Rewan Kruger; Friedle Olivier, Siba Qoma, Gideon van der Merwe; Victor Sekekete (captain), Rynier Bernardo; Conraad van Vuuren, Marnus van der Merwe, Nqobisizwe Moxoli.

Substitutes: Louis van der Westhuizen, Alulutho Tshakweni, Hencus van Wyk, Jeandre Rudolph, George Cronje; Daniel Maartens, Siya Masuku, Robert Ebersohn.

Pumas — Devon Williams; Andrew Kota, Diego Appollis, Ali Mgijima, Etienne Taljaard; Tinus de Beer, Chriswill September; Kwanda Dimaza, Francois Kleinhans, Andre Fouche; Shane Kirkwood (captain), Deon Slabbert; Simon Raw, Pieter Jacobs, Corne Fourie.

Substitutes: Darnell Osuagwu, Etienne Janeke, Dewald Maritz, Malembe Mpofu, Ruwald van der Merwe, Giovan Snyman, Gene Willemse, Wian van Niekerk.

Kickoff: 4pm

Referee: Cwengile Jadezweni, Assistant referees: AJ Jacobs and Stephan Geldenhuys TMO: Egon Seconds

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