WP embrace the pressure
Hosts say they’ve learned their lessons from close-run semi-final victory
WESTERN Province assistant coach Dawie Snyman says they will embrace the fact they have a home Currie Cup final against the Sharks despite the fact the pressure will be on them.
Province contested the final against the Sharks in Durban last season and went on to win it, after also beating the then-undefeated outfit in the league stages.
This season, the undefeated WP are also one-up on the Durban team after having whipped them 50-28 a few weeks ago.
“Last year we were the underdogs going into the final, but we also beat them in the round-robin stage. We knew we could win so it wasn’t like there was nothing in the game for us,” he said.
“Playing at home will be different for us, we are in front of our home crowd so it is actually exciting for the players. It is something we have worked towards as a team. The pressure of the final will be there but we are going to embrace it.”
“It is a new 80 minutes. If there is one thing we can take out, it is the opportunities we created. But we see it as 0-0 and take it from there.”
Snyman also praised the team for how they kept cool during the extratime crunch in their Newlands semifinal against the Blue Bulls.
Scores were deadlocked at 32-32 in the 80th minute after a late try by Bulls centre Dylan Sage, and a missed touchline conversion by flyhalf Manie Libbok granted WP a chance to get some points in extra time, which they did.
And while some might say that WP were lucky to pull through and book their home final despite the character they showed, the attack coach believes that they did enough to deserve the 35-32 triumph.
“It is the first time we have had pressure, we came close and that is probably why people would say that (WP were lucky to win),” Snyman said. “We were leading with five points at that last scrum before extra-time. If we kicked it out there we would have won the game, not easily, we had to work hard for it, but we were not lucky.”
After the game, coach John Dobson said that they freestyled a bit too much and deviated from the plan, and the Bulls’ defence also did well to curb WP’s plans with the ball.
“There were certain areas that they targeted,” Snyman said.
“They closed our space and it’s something we have not experienced. There were areas around what they presented, and where we used to take the right options throughout the season, on Saturday we didn’t. Maybe it is about making sure we stick to the plan, we went off it a bit and that’s where we felt the pressure.
“The Bulls did their homework well, they executed well. It doesn’t help you have linespeed and don’t make good tackles. They made good tackles.”