Province sweating over Taute
Western Province will be sweating over the fitness of Springbok Jaco Taute ahead of their final Currie Cup league match.
Province, who have already secured first place on the standings, will host the Sharks at Newlands on Saturday.
Taute, who injured his rib in the dramatic 34-29 win over the Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein at the weekend, is the only major injury concern this week.
A call on his fitness will be made later in the week.
Veteran hooker Tiaan Liebenberg is back at full training and could come into the selection equation.
"On the injury front, things are looking much better than has been the case all season," Coetzee said.
"Jaco has a rib injury and it's always a sensitive one because the muscles have been damaged.
"The injury is similar to Duane's but Jaco looks like he'll be ready to play in next week's semifinal at Newlands."
Coetzee explained the squad has switched on to a "semifinal" mentality even though there was still one regular season fixture remaining.
After their weekend win, Province have moved eight points clear at the top of the table and will end the regular season at the top of the log.
The outcome of this coming Saturday's match against the Sharks will have no bearing on Province's log position.
"Mentally we are already in a semi-final space and we've earned the right to be there after the weekend's win," he said.
"Everything we do from this point onwards is geared towards the semifinal, and that includes our thinking about team selection.
"It's a bit of a balancing act because some players can do with a rest but we don't want this team to lose its [winning] momentum."
The extra players at Monday's training which involved an expanded squad would give depth to their player reserves for the play-off matches.
Lock Jean Kleyn and fullback Cheslin Kolbe were both watching from the sidelines on Monday.
Province, however, was still holding out slender hopes of the duo making a dramatic recovery in time for the play-offs.
Next week, Springbok Sevens stars Justin Geduld and Seabelo Senatla will rejoin Province after doing duty at the Gold Coast Sevens.
The result of their win at the weekend gives WP coach Allister Coetzee a chance to rest some players and give game time to those who need it.
"It [the Sharks game] is a good opportunity to expand the capacity of the our squad," Coetzee said.
"Some players could do with a full match ahead of the semifinals – guys like [prop] Oliver Kebble and [flyhalf] Kurt Coleman come to mind, but we will consider all of that in our selection meetings this week."
