What Province should have worked on during bye week
THE 2017 Currie Cup season has been a medley of top displays of rugby by Western Province along with a few they would rather forget. So, as Province prepare to host the Free State Cheetahs in a return match – and after their 21-20 defeat to the Sharks last weekend – here are a few things I hope John Dobson’s men have fixed during their bye week to make sure that the Cheetahs don’t return to Bloemfontein with another win to make it 2-0 over WP.
Those who wouldn’t regard themselves as fans of Damian Willemse must have seen his out-of-hand kicking display at the weekend as a golden opportunity to question the youngster’s rugby maturity. And maybe you can’t really blame them. Although the absence of the injured SP Marais was certainly felt on Saturday, Willemse has also carved off some good metres from tough field positions in his previous games. Robert du Preez is also back in the mix for WP again, and whether it’s him or Willemse who gets to run on at No 10 next Saturday, they just need to get those kicks right. PATIENCE WITH BALL IN HAND
This is basically included under the first point, but I think the fact that WP, who can be lethal on attack and counter attack, haven’t been able to convert a lot of their chances into points on a number of occasions deserves its own discussion. Now I don’t know if it was just desperation that caused Province to ruin a number of good opportunities with ball in hand against the Sharks at the weekend, but what I do know (and I’m sure they do too) is that those attacking mess-ups can’t be taken into their date with the Free State Cheetahs… not at all. Two of the most blatant cases of WP’s impatience on attack until now was against the Sharks and Griquas – where they blew a couple of chances through knock ons, misdirected passes or whatever else – and in both cases they were punished for it. So there needs to be more patience and focus next weekend.
When hooker Scarra Ntubeni returned from injury, Dobson praised the front-rower for his “exceptional” lineout work and the vibe he brings to the team. But now Ntubeni is on the casualty list yet again, and he could have brought some much-needed stability to the set-piece that has been kind of up and down for Province this Currie Cup season. At times their lineout has been exceptional, and other times, well, it’s looked about as impressive as some of the refereeing calls made when WP hosted the Blue Bulls at Newlands in round five. Anyway, against the Sharks – one of the best defensive and set-phase teams in the competition – the Cape side lost a few lineouts, and I doubt anybody needs any reminding of what a solid lineout, or setpiece in general, can do for a team’s attack.
Okay, so the chances of us witnessing a Province vs Cheetahs in Bloem Part Two is probably unlikely given the fact that a lot of the Free Staters’ first-rankers will be running out in the PRO14 this weekend. But hey, you never know. Besides, after their 30-17 defeat to the Cheetahs in their season-opening match, WP made it clear that there would be no room for complacency or underestimating anyone this season (even more so after their shock defeat to Griquas in Kimberley). Anyway, one thing that Province urgently need to fix is their discipline. Against the Sharks, WP conceded too many costly penalties, and they were also reduced to 14 men when flank Steph de Witt was sin-binned, while the Sharks were also awarded a penalty try after Province collapsed a rolling maul close to their try line.
Needless to say, that put the hosts, who were already under pressure, in even hotter situations.
And the Sharks game was no isolated, error-ridden game by Province. Although for different reasons, they’ve been handed a number of yellow cards in the past six weeks, while their error rate has also been a concern at times. And it needs to go. There can be none of that next week. DEFENCE... LESS OF THAT, PLEASE
WP have put some outstanding defensive efforts on show – remember their win over the Golden Lions at Newlands? That was massive. But as defence coach Norman Laker said after that fixture – WP are too dangerous with ball in hand to spend the majority of a game defending. Hey, top defence can never be a bad thing, but it would be even better if they can continue their solid defence while outshining the opposition on attack as well... just like we know they can.