Despite losing players year in and year out, Pumas coach Jimmy Stonehouse found a recipe to keep his squad producing no matter what. Picture: Dirk Kotze, Gallo Images via BackpagePix
Cape Town – Year in and year out the Pumas have to start from scratch with almost half of their squad when the bigger unions come knocking on the door after a good Currie Cup season.
Think of the likes of loose forwards Phumzile Mqondwana and Willie Engelbrecht, lock Darrien Landsberg, wing Tapiwe Mafura and hooker Corné Fourie who all left the team recently.
This list, though, goes back years and includes names like Springboks Duane Vermeulen and Faf de Klerk.
But despite the poaching happening at a rapid rate every year, Pumas coach Jimmy Stonehouse has found a recipe to keep his squad producing no matter what.
At the end of their Currie Cup-winning year the Pumas lost about 10 players who helped the team achieve this famous title.
Stonehouse emphasised again that until his team plays in an international competition, this will always be their fate.
After their famous win over the Bulls on Sunday, he again alluded that they deserve a place in an international competition. The Pumas won 63-15 at Loftus against a star-studded home team who had the likes of Springboks Morne Steyn and Cornal Hendricks in their side.
There were talks last year about the Pumas and Griquas joining an international European competition, but those plans have apparently been placed on the backburner.
"We will always struggle and lose people (players) if we don't get an international competition, this is the biggest issue that we have," Stonehouse said.
For now though, he is happy to motivate his players to try and show the bigger franchises that they will not stand back one step for their teams in the Currie Cup.
Part of his motivation before a game is to tell his players that they have an opportunity to show their more fancied opponents on a day, what type of calibre players they are.
“A lot of the guys still have dreams to play on the bigger stage and there's no better way to present yourself than playing against a bigger union,” Stonehouse said.
"The biggest challenge this season, though, was to get the guys on the level that we wanted them on. Unlike the Bulls, Western Province, Cheetahs, Lions and Sharks, we haven't had the luxury of playing since October last year.
“So we practice for the type of scenarios that we will encounter in a match. It was difficult in the pre-season for the players. But we picked the fruits of it against the Bulls.”
Stonehouse added that it will be important for his team not to linger too long on the Bulls result as they prepare for a cat fight with the Lions on Friday at Mbombela Stadium.