Cape Town — The Pumas turned on the fireworks in the second half, scoring seven of their 10 tries, to beat the Griffons 64-6 in Welkom on Sunday.
It was a scintillating second-half performance after they put in the hard work in the first 40 to overpower the home side.
Sheer Dominance 💪
— The Currie Cup (@TheCurrieCup) April 16, 2023
The Airlink Pumas move back to the top of the #CurrieCup log with a big win over the NovaVit Griffons.#WhereLegendsRise pic.twitter.com/h6WTuaNYrn
The defending champions claimed a fifth win of the tournament which sees them leapfrogging the Cheetahs again, who briefly went top after their hard-fought victory over Western Province on Saturday.
The Pumas secured their bonus point for four tries early on in the second half with the Griffons making them work hard for the three five-pointers in the first period.
But the momentum swung heavily towards the Pumas in the second half after they went over for their bonus point try.
Replacement hooker PJ Jacobs scored a hat-trick within 15 minutes of coming off the bench. By that time, they were in full control with the Griffons not having any answer for their power game.
Pumas coach Jimmy Stonehouse will be happy with his team's overall performance and the way they bounced back after taking a loss.
Their campaign, which they started with good wins over the Bulls, Lions, Griquas and Cheetahs, hit a speedbump when they lost to an understrength Sharks side in Durban last week Friday.
It's also the third time this season that the team from Mbombela put 60 points past their opponents. The Bulls and Cheetahs found themselves on the receiving end of a Pumas whipping in March.
Stonehouse will also be very happy with his team's defensive effort, especially in the first half when the home side had plenty of attacking opportunities.
The Griffons missed about 30 tackles which eventually led to their downfall. They are still winless in the tournament and it does not look as if they will be able to turn their campaign around anytime soon.
Points scorers
Griffons 6 — Penalties: Robbie Petzer (2).
Pumas 64 — Tries: PJ Jacobs (3), Deon Slabbert, Giovan Snyman, Malembe Mpofu, Diego Appolis, Ruwald van der Merwe, Chriswill September, Brandon Thomson. Conversions: Tinus de Beer (5), Thomson (2).
IOL Sport