'The gap is not that big': Boland boss's big Cape Town observation
SPOTLIGHT: Boland head coach Hawies Fourie believes his team’s growth this year was there for all to see in their Currie Cup match against Western Province in Cape Town on Saturday.
The Wellington outfit made life difficult for Province for large periods of the match before they eventually went down 22-40
The defeat left Boland in fourth position after the final round wrapped up, with the Cheetahs securing two losing bonus points in a 31-35 defeat to the Bulls.
Boland will now head to Johannesburg to face the table-topping Lions in the semifinals.
Fourie said his team’s outing against a strong WP side showed that they are not too far off from the big boys.
“The gap is not that big. The biggest gap for me is at set-piece,” Fourie told reporters after the match.
“They [WP] had two or three overthrows [in the line-out], but they won the rest.
“Their maul was better than ours, and their maul-stop was better than ours.
“At scrum time, I also felt the Stormers had the upper hand, so at set-piece time we’ve got a lot of work to do.
“However, in general play, I think defensively we made a big step up, but there is still room for improvement.”
Boland also missed out on a home play-off with that defeat, but they still exceeded expectations in the Currie Cup.
“It’s disappointing. I felt we were in it, especially at half-time,” Fourie said.
“If we started the second half better and we used the opportunities, then it [a win] could’ve happened.
“We are not that far behind. There were four tries that were not allowed, and we conceded way too many penalties and three yellow cards, so it is disappointing, but there is still a bit of hope.
“We are in a semifinal, which is great. That was our first aim from the start of the Currie Cup.
“I don’t think too many people would’ve given us a chance to do it. We were fourth in the SA Cup, and then there are four URC teams in the Currie Cup.
“Everyone saw us at the No.8 team in the Currie Cup, and now we are fourth. It’s a lot to be proud of, but still a lot of work to be done.”
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