Pumas coach Jimmy Stonehouse has lamented the costly mistakes made by the Currie Cup title-holders in their loss to Western Province on Friday.
Athlone Stadium witnessed a thrilling clash as Province staged a comeback to defeat the defending champions. In a match marked by three lead changes, Jean-Luc du Plessis emerged as the hero for WP, converting a last-minute try to secure a 22-14 victory.
The Pumas got off to a strong start, with prop Cameron Dawson crossing the whitewash for a converted score inside the third minute.
WP fought back to seize control of the game, before Andrew Kota’s try and Tinus de Beer’s conversion gave the visitors a slim advantage of 14-12 with 30 minutes remaining.
But it was Du Plessis who stole the show at the death, and a disappointed Stonehouse told reporters post match: “You score the points and then you get the penalty, defend for 13 minutes, then you get a penalty and Devon Williams doesn’t kick it out and that puts you back into your 22 for another 12 minutes.”
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He continued to emphasise the impact of individual mistakes, adding, “You cannot play the game that way. The individual errors for the last three games are the stuff that’s costing the Pumas… the same penalties over and over again.
“Then you get the scrum on the halfway line and you give away a penalty again and then you go backwards… it’s not that the guys don’t have the effort … it’s individual stuff.”
With three games left for the Pumas before the playoffs, Stonehouse urged his players to take responsibility and, most importantly, fix their mistakes: “Negativity is not going to help you… you have to get back at it on Monday and turn it around and make it work again.”
The men from Mpumalanga slipped to third on the log after Friday’s loss, so their home clash next week against the Vodacom Bulls takes on added significance as they aim to reverse their recent fortunes and reestablish their dominance in the competition.
“You’ve got the Bulls coming and they’re never going to forget that hiding they got from us [at Loftus Versfeld in the opening round],” Stonehouse said.
“They’re going to come with their whole URC squad and cannot wait for this one. So the guys have got to man up.”
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