Pumas

The union that became the Pumas was founded in 1969 as South Eastern Transvaal, and it was only in 1997, as rugby turned professional, that the name Pumas was adopted to give the union a sharper identity. The move to Mbombela came later still: in 2012 the club shifted its base from Witbank, bringing its home fixtures to the Mbombela Stadium, built for the 2010 World Cup and now holding 43,500.

The club waited a long time for its first major trophy. That arrived in 2022, when the Pumas won the Currie Cup Premier Division, beating Griquas 26-19 in the final — their first top-flight title after three trips up from the First Division, in 2005, 2009 and 2013. They came back the following year and lost the final, finishing runners-up in 2023.

Jimmy Stonehouse has coached the side since 2010. Flanker Willie Engelbrecht captained the club through those years before leaving in 2022, and the Pumas Rugby Institute has kept producing players for a union.

Blue and yellow, the province's own colours, still meet the Golden Lions and the Free State Cheetahs without either fixture carrying a derby name of its own, in a stadium built for a World Cup.