PUMAS rugby coach Jimmy Stonehouse has identified explosive EP Kings wing Paul Perez as one of the players threatening his team's chances of winning Saturday's Absa Currie Cup First Division rugby final.
Last week the fiery Samoan international was in brilliant form, scoring three tries in his team's emphatic 50-27 semifinal win over the Leopards.
"Both Perez and wing Marcello Sampson are players we will be watching closely. The Kings also have a good pack and loose maul and these are areas that we will be concentrating on," Stonehouse said yesterday.
"We are looking forward to the final and the teams are well matched. I think the side that makes the least mistakes will win on Saturday."
Though the Kings and Pumas drew both of their league matches, EP ended 12 points clear at the top of the final league table.
Stonehouse believes the Kings enjoyed a massive advantage in the league because they had a bigger squad and greater financial resources to call on compared to the other First Division teams.
"It was easy for the Kings to stay at the top of the log because of the rotation squad they use," Stonehouse said.
"Because of the size of our squad, we had to nurse our players to win though to the final. This is a big game for us."
After 14 league matches, the Kings finished 12 points clear of the Pumas to earn the right to play the team finishing bottom of the Currie Cup Premier Division in a promotion match.
The Pumas coach said his message to the Kings ahead of the final was a simple one: "Enjoy the game!"
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