The Griquas and the Pumas will battle it out on Saturday in the final of the Airlink Cup in Nelspruit.

On Saturday, round three of the tournament was played in Kimberley, and hosts, the Griquas as well as the Pumas earned convincing wins to book their spot in the Cup final.

The Pumas were clinical as they thumped the Griffons 73-5, while the Peacock Blues in turn came from behind to hammer the Leopards 53-23.

While the Pumas winger Etienne Taljaard was brilliant for the Pumas with a hat-trick of tries, it was the Canadian international scrumhalf, Ross Braude, who impressed with a man of the match performance.

The flyhalf, Clinton Swart, who has previously played for the Griquas as well as the Cheetahs and Bulls was brilliant for the team in pink as well and with Braude they make a solid halfback combination.

The man of the match and Griquas flyhalf, Eddie Fouché, told OFM Sport that it’s always special facing the Pumas.

“I think it's brilliant - the rivalry between the Griquas and the Pumas has come for a long time and I think it's going to be a great one,” said Fouché who previously played his rugby at the Pumas.

“Especially in Nelspruit - it's a great field and a great city as well. I'm looking forward to it and I'm sure that the rest of the team is as well.

“You can bet your bottom dollar that we can't wait for that one.”

The Peacock Blues will be sweating over the fitness of their new flanker, Lourens Oosthuizen, who was carted off the field with what appears to be a serious knee injury. The initial belief is that the former Shimlas stalwart picked up a Lateral Collateral Ligament (LCL) injury. They will have more clarity on the extent of the injury on Monday.

A big positive for the Griquas was the performance of the scrumhalf, Xavier Swartbooi, on debut. The former CUT Ixias captain scored a brace of tries on debut, and he may well have made the number nine jersey his own.

On Saturday at 14:00 the Griffons face the Leopards in the Shield Final and at 16:00 the Pumas tackle the Griquas at the Mbombela Stadium.

Scorers:

Pumas: Tries - Etienne Taljaard 3, Wian van Niekerk, Clinton Swart, Ross Braude, Phiko Sobahle, Ruwan van der Merwe, Tino Swanepoel 2, Jaco Labuschagne Conv. - Swart 6, Brandon Thomson 3.

Griffons: Try - Randy Fielies

Griquas: Tries - Cameron Hufke 2, Xavier Swartbooi 2, Marcqiewn Titus, Sako Makata, Stephan Smit, Jay-Cee Nel Conv. - Eddie Fouché 6

Leopards: Tries - Lionel April, Werner Schoeman Conv. - April, Sanele Zungi Pen. - April 2, Zungu

Morgan Piek OFM Sport