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Pumas wing Daniel Maartens falls to a try (Gallo Images)
- Cougars mentor Jimmy Stonehouse hopes that their excellent 44-14 win over the Bulls will propel SA Rugby to include them in the February Franchise Cup.
- He also ignored suggestions that they were playing against a weakened opposition, an argument reinforced by the fact that 14 of the match’s teams also faced the Lions.
- Jake White, the Bulls’ director of rugby, regretted the loss but was relieved there were no injuries.
Clearly proud, Jimmy Stonehouse hopes his Pumas troops’ excellent 44-14 victory over the Bulls in the Currie Cup on Sunday has done enough to convince SA Rugby to include them in a Franchise Cup competition scheduled for February. .
Reports have claimed that the local governing body has created the tournament, scheduled to feature the four PRO16 franchises and the Cheetahs, as a way for Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber to keep his best players in shape for the upcoming season. international.
However, with the SA Cup, the qualification mechanism for next season’s Currie Cup, likely to be scrapped due to Covid-related logistical challenges, requests for the franchise Cup to be expanded are reported to be increasing. to eight teams.
By finishing in a comfortable sixth place and performing much more competitively than some results suggested, the Pumas have certainly made their mark.
“Depth is continually an issue for a team like us,” Stonehouse said afterward.
“When injuries come, things get tough for us and that’s why it’s difficult to play in a (national campaign) like this. But we really went a step further this season and I hope SA Rugby has noticed.
“I really hope that we will be part of the Franchise Cup that starts in five weeks.”
A six-to-two beating was indicative of the Lowvelders’ dominance on the day and while it will be noted that there was little game in the game, the young Bulls still had more than enough fans in their game-23 not to shrink the importance of the achievement of your hosts.
“People will say we played a weakened Bulls team, but they still had 14 players from the game against the Lions present,” Stonehouse said.
“Four of them were guys who have basically played the entire season to date. I’m very proud of this victory.
“If you look at the structures of the Bulls, they have won the provincial under-21 championship two years in a row. So the young people they have are excellent prospects.
“We play really good rugby, regardless of the Bulls opposition we face. Every Bulls team is strong.”
Meanwhile, Jake White, the Bulls’ director of rugby, admitted the loss hurt him, although he was barely dejected.
“The most important thing is that we had no injuries. I was always worried that we might lose one or two guys,” he said.
“Nobody likes to lose. It was always going to be difficult when we only had one practice session because of the weeknight game against the Lions.
“The second half ended 10-7 after we conceded 30 points so quickly, which was positive, but give the Pumas their due. They have been very good this season and were even unlucky with some of the results that were against him. “
