The Pumas, known as the MRU, or New Nations Pumas for sponsorship reasons, is a professional South African rugby team that competes in the Currie Cup competition.
Discover everything there is to know about the Pumas rugby team with RugbyPass, your resident rugby gurus. On this page you’ll find all the latest information about the Pumas, including their latest results and upcoming fixtures. You’ll also find a detailed history of the side and an analysis of their current squad.
There was a nasty aftermath to the Bulls versus Western Province Currie Cup round eight match at Loftus Versfeld on Wednesday, Bismarck du Plessis finding himself criticised for a second-half incident involving visiting lock Ben-Jason Dixon.
Georgia, Kenya and Zimbabwe will take part in South Africa's domestic Currie Cup tournament from April, offering an opportunity for more regular competition ahead of next year's Rugby World Cup.
The Pumas, known as the MRU, or New Nations Pumas for sponsorship reasons, is a professional South African rugby team that competes in the Currie Cup competition.
Discover everything there is to know about the Pumas rugby team with RugbyPass, your resident rugby gurus. On this page you’ll find all the latest information about the Pumas, including their latest results and upcoming fixtures. You’ll also find a detailed history of the side and an analysis of their current squad.
Currie Cup Currie Cup 
Currie Cup | Round 12 | P | W | L | D | PF | PA | PD | BP T | BP -7 | BP | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
-  Blue Bulls | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 393 | 271 | 122 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 45 |
-  Cheetahs | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 340 | 216 | 124 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 41 |
-  Pumas | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 261 | 220 | 41 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 22 |
-  Griquas | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 295 | 260 | 35 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 22 |
-  Sharks XV | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 202 | 218 | -16 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 22 |
-  Western Province | 10 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 225 | 317 | -92 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 13 |
-  Golden Lions | 10 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 240 | 454 | -214 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 10 |
| Round 12 |
|---|
| - Blue Bulls |
| - Cheetahs |
| - Pumas |
| - Griquas |
| - Sharks XV |
| - Western Province |
| - Golden Lions |
The Pumas rugby side is not as old as many of the teams that compete for South Africa’s Currie Cup. The team was initially formed in 1969, when it was known as South Eastern Transvaal. As a result, it’s one of the youngest unions in the country.
Since the Pumas entered the Currie Cup, the side has never won the competition. However, the team has won the first division of the competition three times (2005, 2009 and 2013). In addition to this, the team also won the Vodacom Cup in 2015 and the Rugby Challenge in 2018.
Now competing in the premier division of the Currie Cup, the Pumas play their home games at Mbombela Stadium, which has a capacity of just over 40,000.
Aaron Hinkley Number 8 
Corne Fourie Prop 
Daniel Maartens Number 8 
Deon Slabbert Lock 4 
Francois Kleinhans Flanker 6 
Shane Kirkwood Lock 4 
TBC Loose head prop 
Willie Engelbrecht Lock 
Ali Mgijima Centre 
Alwayno Visagie 
Andre Fouche Fullback 
Andries Viljoen Fullback 
Anele Lungisa Fullback 
Brandon Valentyn 
Darrien Landsberg 
Devon Williams 
Dewald Maritz 
Diego Appollis Centre 13 
Eddie Fouche 
Eduan Swart Fullback 
Etienne Janeke Fullback 
Etienne Taljaard 
Giovan Snyman 
Ig Prinsloo 
Jade Stighling Wing 
Japie Kleinhans 
Khwezi Mafu Fullback 
Kwanda Dimaza 
Llewelyn Classen Fullback 
Lucky Dlepu Scrum Half 
Lundi Msenge Left wing 
Malembe Mpofu Fullback 
Phumzile Maqondwana 
Robbie Petzer Fly half 
Ruan Kramer 
Sebastian De Klerk Fullback 
Sihle Njezula Left Wing 
Simon Raw Fullback 
Tapiwa Mafura 
Tinus De Beer The Pumas are often considered the underdogs in the Currie Cup. As a result, unlike some of the other sides in the competition, their squad is not full of international stars. In fact, the current Pumas squad only features one player who has been capped at international level, Tapiwa Mafura of Zimbabwe.
However, the squad is packed with up-and-coming talent and may even feature several future stars of South African rugby.
