News

Western Province in the dumps

Tuesday 07th October 2008

Poor showing: Western Province ponder what could have been

It was a rather sad conclusion for Western Province fans even though they beat the Lions 14-6 in their final Currie Cup fixture of 2008 at Newlands on Saturday.

Captain Jean de Villiers afterwards hinted that the individual stars did not perform as expected. Province had to score four tries for a bonus point and win by a 19-point margin but weren't up to the tough task.

Province looked devoid of ideas in Saturday's fixture against the Lions. Although they won, their attack failings ensured they finished the Currie Cup league stage in fifth position.

"We had the opportunities, but we just didn't capitalise," said De Villiers.

"I think our individual brilliance, which is usually our big strength, was also our big weakness.

"You also can't blame our failure to qualify on these results. We will have to look at a few below par performances throughout the season.

"Last week against Boland was just one example where we should have scored more points. That could have seen us in the semi-final."

Coach Allister Coetzee preferred to concentrate on the positives and believes Western Province have obtained some important momentum at the back end of the season.

"It's never acceptable not to make the semi-finals," he said.

"It's disappointing, but we have won five from five, and have scored 23 log points from a possible 25 in the final five games.

"We have learned a few lessons about depth.

"We had a number of injuries and thirteen Boks players leaving our side throughout the season.

"This affected us, but next year we will have more players like Wicus Blaauw and JC Kritzinger playing in their second year of Currie Cup rugby."

On the point of relying on individuals to do the job against the Lions, Coetzee said you will always need the special stars to make the difference in the regional competition.

"You don't win games on structure in the Super 14," he said.

"You need that individual brilliance to win big games."

Coetzee and De Villiers concurred about the outcome of next weekend's semi-finals. The Sharks and Blue Bulls are their favourites to contest the Currie Cup final.

"The Lions played to get in a semi-final at Newlands," said De Villiers.

"But they weren't the better team on the day, and I suppose there's a debate whether they'll be good enough to be in the final."