WP weather tough match, confirm home semi

Western Province coach John Dobson believes that his side survived a tough test on their way to a 50-28 Currie Cup win over the Sharks at Newlands on Saturday‚ and are the better for it.

The Sharks appeared to be out of the game at 31-7 down after 26 minutes‚ but they fought back to bring themselves within three points early in the second half.

That was the period where Dobson felt his team showed its growing maturity by weathering the onslaught and finishing strongly.

“Our physicality was excellent though‚ which was something we asked from the guys.”

The win ensured that WP have a home Currie Cup semifinal with one match to go and they need just one point from their final match against Blue Bulls at Loftus to secure top spot in the overall standings.

That would mean a home Currie Cup final if they progress through the semis.

Sharks coach Robert du Preez was disappointed with his side’s failure to take chances but praised their ability to stay in the contest until the final 10 minutes.

“We were disappointing at times but did really well to come back‚” Du Preez said. “There were lapses in our game today.

“But we have to give WP some credit because they took their chances and deserved the win.

“We got back into the game and had our opportunities but we became impatient and WP used their opportunities much better than we did.

“Maybe we did engage them too much on their own terms. It certainly didn’t go our way in the first 30 minutes but I liked the character the boys showed to take it to a situation where we had a chance to win the game.”