WP can’t afford to drop the ball in golden spots

could they not be? And again, turning over possession is one of the reason for them finding themselves in those defensive roles.

Yes, their semi-final date with the Lions isn’t an away game for WP, they will go up against the Johannesburg side in their own back yard – Newlands. So altitude and the pressure that comes with playing away from home won’t be a factor, but it will still be important for WP to turn their chances into points.

Against the Sharks, there were glimpses of this problem again. WP got all the way into the Sharks’ red zone, but lost the ball a number of times, and every time it happened, it was another chance for the men from Durban to capitalise (luckily for the Cape side, a strong second-half performance prevented disappointment).

In the build-up to their match against the Sharks last week, Dobson said that the fact that they couldn’t seem to finish away this season wasn’t a conditioning issue with his players, and added that his side perhaps lacked the killer instinct to sustain their performances throughout the match and finish their fixtures on a high.

But this weekend, they have to. They have to have that killer instinct to secure the win and book their place in the final. Because a team like the Lions won’t allow them to lick their wounds for too long after a wasted opportunity before they pounce on it.

After all, Province have the personnel to finish. They have the skill, pace, and everything else.

They just need to make sure that their coach doesn’t have to address the issue of “not finishing” again at the postmatch press conference on Saturday.