Lions vs Pumas Preview & Tips - Pumas backed to do the double on Lions

The Pumas were convincing winners earlier in the campaign against the Lions. My best bet is for the Pumas to win this match.

These two met on the opening weekend of the 2021 Currie Cup season. On that occasion the Pumas cruised to a 39-10 home victory. They dominated most facets of play as the Lions’ young team struggled to cope with the hosts physicality.

The Lions are bottom of the 2021 Currie Cup table after five matches. They have only managed one win in their five matches thus far.

On the opening weekend of the Currie Cup, the Lions got hammered 39-10 by the Pumas in Nelspruit. That result as backed up with a stellar performance, beating Western Province 38-32 in Johannesburg.

Unfortunately things haven’t gone all that well since and COVID has also been in the camp. Last week the young Lions outfit was outplayed at Loftus Versfeld as the Bulls trotted to a comfortable 40-21 win.

The Lions must win this game if they are to still push for a place in the playoffs. They will be close to full strength with no big injuries within their squad.

The Pumas are enjoying a fine season and find themselves fifth on the table, two points off the final playoff spot. After a magnificent start to the season, the Pumas’ performances have dropped in the last couple of weeks.

After grabbing a bonus point win against the Lions in round one, the Pumas narrowly lost at the Bulls but still managed a losing bonus point. That was followed by a solid victory over Griquas.

Over the last two weeks the Pumas have however come unstuck. They lost 17-16 in Bloemfontein against the Cheetahs before suffering a 37-23 loss to Western Province last weekend.

Unlike the Pumas earlier in the season, they make plenty of errors at the breakdown and in set pieces against Province. That will be a key focus point this weekend.

Pumas have no reported injury concerns of this match. They may look to make a few changes to freshen things up after a poor performances last time out.