Pumas land first Currie Cup title on historic day as Griquas, Kimberley left heartbroken

At Griqua Park, Kimberley

The Pumas outplayed Griquas in all departments to land a first-ever Currie Cup title in Kimberley on Saturday in front of 11 000 roaring fans at Griqua Park. 

It was a fantastic spectacle that saw two of the country's smaller unions sharing the spotlight, throwing everything at each other, and while it ended in heartache for the hosts, coach Jimmy Stonehouse and his Pumas will be celebrating long into the night. 

For the men from Kimberley, the wait for a first Currie Cup crown since 1970 continues. 

For the Pumas, who stormed to a 26-19 victory, this is a day sweeter than any before and easily the crowning moment in the union's history. 

This result wasn't in the script for the Griquas fans, but sport can be cruel, and as much as this will hurt for them, the Pumas' story is as incredible as any seen this season. 

Having finished fourth on the Currie Cup log, Stonehouse's men had to score two tries in five minutes to down the Cheetahs in their Bloemfontein semi-final last weekend just to book their place in this fairytale affair.

On this day, they were far more clinical and bossed proceedings for the majority of the match.

They were 18-9 up at half-time, while Griquas were awful in that period, error-ridden with a lineout problem that never went away. 

Griquas did find some rhythm in the second half when things were at their most desperate, but they had left themselves far too much to do by then.

In the end it was three Pumas tries to just one from Griquas. 

Die-hard fans had started arriving at the venue since 08:00, with drinks flowing and braais blazing in the popular grass area outside the stadium that had turned to mud thanks to heavy rains during the week. 

The Griqua Park turf, however, was in