'We need to forget and move on'
The Sharks were on a 10-match winning streak before Saturday's loss and it was not the result the Durban side wanted heading into their semifinal clash against the Blue Bulls next weekend.
"We've put in a lot of hard work," said Du Preez.
"This team has worked incredibly hard.
"The whole squad has worked hard and we are just going to have to regroup on Monday.
"This is a game that we need to forget and move on. We got a semifinal to win."
Du Preez said his players were guilty of not putting their hearts fully into the encounter against Province.
"The first half, although we were up on the scoreboard, we were just going through the motions.
"That obviously resulted in going into the second half and just thinking we can still go through the motion and then they started playing proper rugby and they put us under a lot of pressure.
"We have no excuses. You can't take any game for granted and just think that you can pitch up and just go through the motions. That is the bottom line," he added.
Du Preez was also impressed with his son's (Robert du Preez junior's) performance for the Cape side.
"He played really well. He likes to do that when he plays against his father, but credit to Western Province. In the end, they were a lot hungrier for this win," said Du Preez.
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