Bulls beware! Province won't 'slack off' at Loftus
CURRIE CUP SPOTLIGHT: Western Province will look to build on their momentum when they head to Loftus Versfeld to take on the Blue Bulls in the final round of the league phase of this year’s Currie Cup.
Province have a perfect record so far with a maximum of 25 points from their five games played and they have already secured a home semifinal.
The defending champions need just two more log points against the Blue Bulls to secure the top spot on the standings.
One log point from that game could also be enough to finish top as their points difference is more than 100 points better than their nearest rivals, the Sharks.
Province will know what they need by the time their match kicks off as the Sharks face Griquas in Kimberley in the early match on Saturday.
“You want to play a good match before you go into the play-offs, so you can’t afford to slack off,” said Western Province assistant coach Dawie Snyman.
“We need at least one point up there, but we really want to see how we can improve as a team this week and put in a good performance on Saturday.”
Meanwhile, Snyman confirmed that Springboks Wilco Louw, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Mbongeni Mbonambi and Damian Willemse will all be available for the match in Pretoria.
The return of those players will be a big boost for Province and Snyman believes they will fit in seamlessly during their preparations this week.
“There are players that are not contracted with the Boks that are back. One or two of them trained with the team today [Monday] and some that played over the weekend didn’t train, so they will all be back tomorrow.
“Wilco played against the Pumas and Griquas, while Damian played against the Pumas. Notshe also played a few games for us, so its guys that are used to the system. It’s not like they are coming in from outside and they don’t what we are doing.
“There are also guys that are doing well in our side and it is important to keep the momentum and consistency,” Snyman added.
Province will make a call on Juanro Augustus’ availability for the match later in the week. The No.8 missed his team’s 50-28 win over the Sharks because of injury.
By Warren Fortune
@FortuneWarren
@rugby365com
