No fairytale for heartbroken Griquas: 'I think we got stage fright'

If Saturday's Currie Cup final had gone according to script, then Kimberley would be rocking into the early hours of Sunday morning, celebrating Griquas' first title in 52 years.

But sport cares not for such sentiment, and instead, it was the Pumas who left Griqua Park as first-time winners following a 26-19 win that was far more commanding than the scoreline suggests.

For the visitors from Nelspruit, the celebrations following the final whistle provided memories that will last a lifetime.

For coach Pieter Bergh and his Griquas soldiers, they were gut-wrenching.

There were over 11 000 fans crammed into the small, intimate venue on Saturday, and almost all of them had come to watch Griquas win.

Instead, they saw a performance that was lacking in almost every department for the bulk of the contest.

Bergh, still just 37 years old, held his head high after the match and conceded that his charges were simply outplayed.

"I have to congratulate Jimmy [Stonehouse, Pumas coach] and the Pumas. We were never in the game, and they dominated us from the beginning," said Bergh.

"To be honest, I thought we had stage fright. We didn't pitch up in that first half, and there were too many mistakes.

"The plan was to not give them lineouts and to kick contestables but we didn't kick one contestable the whole game. We didn't execute our plan.

"There were so many things. They were more physical than us, their defence was better, their set-piece was better, and, in all the areas of the game, we were second best.

"If you don't pitch up, then you will be second best."

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The hype surrounding Griquas in the week leading up to the match was