The Pumas clinched a thrilling 34-27 (halftime 17-3) bonus point win over the Lions in their Currie Cup clash at a boisterous Mbombela Stadium on Friday night.
The defending champions first home match of the season lived up to the hype, as they had to show tremendous character to survive a Lions fightback that drew the scores level with four minutes to play, with the Pumas then sneaking in at the death to secure a top result.
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A slow start to the match finally saw the visitors first on the board with a 15th minute penalty from flyhalf Vaughen Isaacs.
Four minutes later the home side struck, attacking from a scrum in their own half, as inside centre Ali Mgijima fed right wing Jade Stighling to break downfield and find outside centre Diego Appollis to go over untouched for the seven pointer.
In the 29th minute the Lions were punished for sloppy play as they tried to attack from a scrum near the halfway but a loose pass allowed Mgijima to pop the ball fullback Devon Williams to run in an opportunistic score, with flyhalf Brandon Thomson adding the extras for a 14-3 lead.
A 34th minute penalty from the boot of Thomson gave the Pumas a comfortable lead at the break.
The Lions came out for the second half all guns blazing and in the 51st minute they attacked from a lineout in the Pumas 22m, with the ball slung out to wing Boldwin Hansen to go over in the corner for his third try of the season, converted by Isaacs to make it 17-10.
The Pumas hit straight back in the 55th minute as they setup their own lineout in the Lions 22m, with a strong maul then splintering and flank Andre Fouche coming through the middle to dive over for an unconverted try.
Duelling mauls
The duelling mauls continued to dominate with the Lions this time powering over in the 63rd minute, with flank Jarod Cairns dotting down the five pointer to bring them back into the game at 22-15.
The back and forth second half continued as Pumas prop Corne Fourie forced himself over from close range, while Isaacs ran in to score with the conversion making it 27-22 after 70 minutes.
A superb intercept try to Hansen in the 76th minute then drew the scores level, and the Lions should have taken the lead, but Isaacs who had nailed much tougher kicks already in the match missed the conversion.
This proved massively costly as another mistake from Isaacs, knocking on in his own 22m with just a couple of minutes left, gave the Pumas possession from which they attacked and Appollis stepped over for his second to seal a thrilling win.
SCORERS
Pumas: Tries – Diego Appollis (2), Devon Williams, Andre Fouche, Corne Fourie; Conversions – Brandon Thomson (3); Penalty – Thomson
Lions: Tries – Boldwin Hansen (2), Jarod Cairns, Vaughen Isaacs; Conversions – Isaacs (2); Penalty – Isaacs
