Who will crack first in the Final?

Avoid falling into the trap of playing finals football. This is the broad message ahead of the Currie Cup Final between Western Province and the Golden Lions at Newlands on Saturday.

These are two very similar sides – who put a premium on attack, but retain a solid defensive structure.

It means that the final is set to be a spectacle of attacking play in which both teams' defensive structures will be tested to the full.

A classic case of: Who will crack first?

In the league phase of the competition the Lions scored 50 tries and conceded 24, with their try-count in last week's 50-20 semifinal win over the Sharks being six for and three against – a total of 56-27 for the season.

Province scored 40 tries in their 10 league matches, while they conceded 23, with their semifinal count (a 31-23 win over the Blue Bulls) being three for and two against – 43-26 for the season.

WP backline coach Robbie Fleck said that neither side will forsake their expansive game, even though it is a Final.

For Province, the 43 tries in 11 games, is a significant step up from previous seasons.

"This team has come a long way," Fleck told a media scrum in Cape Town.

"We had to re-assess what went wrong in Super Rugby and part of that was the fact that we couldn't score tries – it has been like that for some time."

While the Cape Town outfit has had huge success in the past with their defence-based kicking game, it was because it suited the personnel in their side at the time.

"No doubt we had to make some changes, it was overdue," Fleck said.

"However, we haven't moved too far from where we've been in the past. The foundations of a strong defence and a strong kicking game is still there. We have managed to turn the corner in terms of our ability to score tries."

The most significant change is that where WP now score most of their tries from broken play, whereas before they had the ability to score from structured play.

"That [scoring from set pieces] is the one aspect that dropped off this season," the backline mentor said.

"With the type of personnel we have in this team, we had to look at our team profile and work towards those strengths. We nailed it in that sense."

He admitted that, because this is a Final, it is going to be tough to execute that expansive gameplan.

"The Lions have leaked only 24 tries [in 10 league games], almost the same as us," he said of the 23 tries WP had scored against them.

"It is an even balance between unstructured and structured [play]. They are a good defensive unit as well .

"We talked a lot about their attacking play,  but the one aspect of the Lions is that they sorted out their defence and it is a big challenge in that regard."

While WP are not going to change too much and are going to focus on what worked for them all season, Fleck felt that if they made the right decision, opportunities to score tries will still be there.

"We do need some variety, because you can't just run everything," he said, adding: "We want to get that balance right and keep the opposition guessing. We can't just go out there with a ball in hand approach, territory and possession are important.

"If we keep the opposition guessing – through a ball in hand approach or a good kicking game – then we are doing the right thing."

He said that while they will be challenged in many areas by the Lions, the Province players are in a good place.

"We have come a long way and we are a side that can fight back, as we showed against the Free State Cheetahs when we came back from a long way behind to win.

"We also have the ability to sustain a lead, although we sometimes get worried in the second half," he said of their traditional lapse in intensity after the half-time break.

He also felt there is no risk of the players in either side creeping into their shells because it is a Final.

"That is one thing we were firm about," Fleck said, adding: "There is heaps of pressure playing play-offs, especially a final, as we found out [the hard way] last year.

"The tendency for players could be to get a little bit nervous and get a bit conservative, but that wouldn't work for us.

"It would be a fault from our side, as coaches, to box these players in. These guys need to play and express themselves.

"Our message to them, pretty similar to what the Lions management would say to their players, is to go out there and play their natural game."

He said, because it is a Final, there will be certain plans put in place.

"The players understand that we can't go out there and play without any structure, we still have to make the right decision.

"The Lions prey on the opposition's mistakes and will look to fracture us and that is when they are devastating.

"It is two very similar sides in that regard."

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