WP coach looking at positives

John Dobson, Head Coach of Western Province (l) and Robert du Preez (r) addresses the media during the Western Province Rugby Training Session, at the HPC Bellville, Cape Town, 6 October 2015 ©Chris Ricco/BackpagePix

John Dobson, Head Coach of Western Province (l) and Robert du Preez (r) addresses the media during the Western Province Rugby Training Session, at the HPC Bellville, Cape Town, 6 October 2015 ©Chris Ricco/BackpagePix

Published Oct 6, 2015

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The Golden Lions have pretty much been unbeatable in this year’s Currie Cup.

The few occasions when teams have come close to upstaging the Johannesburg side were when they took their foot off the pedal.

Except for Elton Jantjies and Lionel Mapoe, the Lions are basically playing with their full Super Rugby side after the Springbok selectors snubbed most of their stars. And they showed Western Province exactly how “super” they can be, when they pulverised the Cape side 62-32 at Ellis Park on Friday.

The loss is likely to consign WP to a third-place finish in the standings, unless they hammer the EP Kings with a bonus point at Newlands on Friday night and the Blue Bulls don’t get any points against the Pumas.

So, WP will probably play the Bulls at Loftus in the semi-finals, and the only time they are likely to face the Lions again is if they meet in the final.

And, despite the score, WP coach John Dobson believes that his side can bounce back from Friday night’s disaster, and are capable of beating the high-flyers from Joburg if the two teams meet in the showpiece match. “It was a stellar performance by the Lions, it was a Super Rugby performance,” Dobson said yesterday.

“We were also poor. We scored four tries, but we dropped eight balls, three of which were clear scoring opportunities. I think we can (beat them) if we hold onto the ball.

“Not to say we were well beaten, but there are signs. I think we learned a lot from Friday night. I know I’m clutching at straws, but rather it happened now than in the final!”

The way they capitulated on the hallowed turf of Ellis Park is also going to have a bearing on Friday night’s clash against the Kings.

Ideally, after a win, Dobson would have liked to give some of his key men a rest going into the semis after a gruelling nine weeks in the competition. But now WP need to get some confidence back and conjure up some much-needed momentum ahead of a potential semi against their arch-rivals.

But Dobson hinted that tighthead prop Wilco Louw and hooker Bongi Mbonambi could be rested this weekend. A guy like Seabelo Senatla seems like he also needs a bit of break after a hectic season with the SA Sevens team and WP, but injuries to Kobus van Wyk (quad injury) and Cheslin Kolbe (shoulder and ankle) may not allow that to happen.

SA Under-20 wing Leolin Zas looks set to come in for Van Wyk on the right wing, while Dillyn Leyds will replace Kolbe in the No 15 jersey. Those two players, though, will be ready for the playoffs.

Rynhardt Elstadt and Scarra Ntubeni are also still on the sidelines and may only feature in the playoffs, while Chris Cloete has been ruled out of the rest of the season with a calf injury. “There is no question of resting, because we need to get some momentum back after the scarring of last week.” Dobson said.

The Kings have battled along this season winning just two games, however, WP is not going to take this game lightly. Especially, because Dobson warned his players that nobody is guaranteed a starting berth from here on in. “They have also been told that there are going to be one of two changes in the team. Some of them might be performance related, so they have to play for a place in the semi on Friday.” - Cape Times

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