Kimberley - The Pumas outscored Griquas seven tries to five to record a 47-31 victory in their Vodacom Cup match in Kimberley on Friday.
The Pumas trailed 28-7 after 36 minutes. They are now the only unbeaten side in their group, with two away wins over the Bulls and Griquas.
Leon Karemaker scored Griquas’ third converted try. From the next kick-off things changed when replacement-flyhalf JW Bell stepped past three defenders on his way to the try line. It was the start of a comeback in which the Pumas scored 33 points without reply.
Not only did the Pumas trail throughout the first half (14-24 behind at the break), the Griquas completely outplayed them. In addition the Pumas had to play with 14 men for 20 minutes – both cases due to ill discipline.
Everything seemed to turn against the Griquas in the second half. Even their lineouts, which were solid in the first half, became a mess. A try by replacement loose forward Deon Carney brought some light nine minutes before the end, reducing the deficit to 31-40.
However in their search for two further scores the Pumas intercepted and ran in a 70m try to seal a remarkable come-from-behind victory.
Scorers:Griquas:
Tries: Jonathan Adendorf, Richard Lawson, Leon Karemaker, Deon Carney
Conversions: Pieter-Steyn de Wet (4)
Penalty: Pieter-Steyn de Wet
Pumas:
Tries: Wilhelm Loock, Carl Bezuidenhout, Stefan Watermeyer, Rosko Specman (2), Renaldo Bothma, JW Bell
Conversions: Carl Bezuidenhout (6)