Pumas maintain grip on second position
JC Roos turned in a superb display for the Ford Pumas by scoring 19 points as they claimed a come-from-behind 29-22 (7-12) victory over the Valke in their Absa Currie Cup First Division clash at the Barnard Stadium in Kempton Park on Saturday.
The young flyhalf scored a try in each half and also kicked three conversions and a penalty as his team overturned a 12-point deficit at one stage to consolidate their second-place positioning on the log.
The Pumas crossed four times in total to ensure a bonus point as well with winger Wilhelm Loock and captain Jacobus Jonker claiming the other tries.
They started out poorly in Johannesburg and were reduced to 14 men early on when De-Jay Terblanche was yellow carded, with the home side taking the lead via a try by their captain Jacques Nieuwenhuis.
Karlo Aspeling added the conversion, but then missed another attempt when Anrich Richter scored again for the Valke, giving them a 12-0 lead after 23 minutes.
Roos scored the first of his tries before the half-hour mark, which he himself converted, to leave the Mpumalanga visitors trailing by five points at the interval.
After the restart, Willem Odendaal stretched the lead for the hosts when he went over for a second converted try.
But Roos landed a penalty, before missing another, although it mattered little as Loock went in for a second try for the Pumas.
Then after 62 minutes, they hit the lead for the very first time and remained there.
Centre Jonker was the man to put them ahead and with 11 minutes remaining, Roos scored a fine solo try when he broke a few tackles on the right touchline, before scoring in the corner.
Even though the conversion was missed, the Pumas held on despite a late penalty by Juan Kotze.
SCORERS:
Valke – Tries: Jacques Nieuwenhuis, Anrich Richter, Willem Odendaal.
Conversions: Karlo Aspeling (2). Penalty: Juan Kotze.
Pumas – Tries: Juan-Claude Roos (2), Wilhelm Loock, Jacobus Jonker.
Conversions: Roos (3). Penalties: Roos.
