De Bruin backs Province to win

THE ONLY THING SEPARATING THEM

The scales are tipping marginally in the favour of Western Province ahead of tomorrow’s Currie Cup final against the Sharks at Newlands. This is the opinion of Swys de Bruin, the shrewd Lions Super Rugby coach and the current backline and attacking consultant for Rassie Erasmus at the Springboks.

De Bruin believed it could be a game of small margins, as he felt there was very little separating the two sides.

“If I have to make a prediction, I’ll have to say Western Province, but only because they are playing at home,” De Bruin said.

“If it was in Durban I would have said the Sharks, and I believe it’s going to be a very close final.”

Province centre Ruhan Nel, a former Blitzbok star, also expected a close contest between the two best sides in the competition.

“I recently spent some time with Sbu Nkosi (Sharks wing) at the Bok camp and he has a big fire in his belly. He is very passionate, and with the likes of Curwin Bosch and Robert du Preez, we know we are in for a big challenge,” Nel said.

Though Province were pushed to the limit in last week’s semifinal against the Blue Bulls, Nel believed the character of their side had stood out.

“A sign of a good team is to stick to a plan, and while we didn’t always stick to it, the guys showed maturity and character to pull it through,” Nel said.

“It showed the mental ability of the team to adjust from the one half to the other.”

Nel felt his former Blitzbok team-mate Dylan Sage, who also played at centre, was magical for the Blue Bulls.

“Obviously I know ‘Sagie’ is a fierce defender and I knew he would’ve had his eye on me, but at the same time I’m happy he got his opportunity,” he said.

“Ball-in-hand, he can be lethal if you give him space, and I phoned him last week and told him that of all the weeks he could have played so well , he had to choose to do it that week.”

While they narrowly missed out on a place in the trophy decider, Nel said the Bulls had “come around the corner real hard”, and their backs ran hard, attacking lines which had put their opponents under pressure.

The semifinal battle, however, had assisted Province in gearing up for the final.

“Last weekend, with guys like Duncan Matthews, Dylan Sage and Manie Libbok coming at us at pace, it was a challenge, but I think we handled it well.”