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.
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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.
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.
Corne Fourie Prop 
Darnell Osuagwu Hooker 
Deon Slabbert Lock 4 
Dries du Preez Lock 4 
Francois Kleinhans Flanker 6 
Jaco Labuschagne Flanker 
Jacques Momberg Hooker 
Llewellyn Classen Hooker 
Njabulo Gumede Prop 
Orateng Koikanyang Blindside Flanker 
Pieter Jacobs Hooker 
Ruwald van der Merwe Number 8 
Shane Kirkwood Lock 4 
Ali Mgijima Centre 
Andre Fouche Fullback 
Andrew Kota Fullback 
Anele Lungisa Fullback 
Brandon Thomson Fly half 
Cameron Dawson 
Chriswill September Scrum Half 
Cosmo Zymvragos Fullback 
Devon Williams 
Dewald Maritz 
Diego Appollis Centre 
Eduan Swart Fullback 
Ethan Fisher Fullback 
Etienne Janeke Fullback 
Etienne Taljaard 
Gene Willemse Fullback 
Giovan Snyman 
Herschelle Goodman Fullback 
Ig Prinsloo 
Jade Stighling Wing 
Jan Wolfaardt Meades Fullback 
Jeandre Leonard Fullback 
Keegan Schaefer Scrum Half 
Khwezi Mafu Fullback 
Kwanda Dimaza 
Lundi Msenge Left wing 
Malembe Mpofu Fullback 
Morne Joubert 
Sebastian De Klerk Fullback 
Sihle Njezula Left Wing 
Simon Raw Fullback 
Stefan Coetzee Fullback 
Tinus De Beer 
Wian van Niekerk Inside Centre 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.
