Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Province not likely to underrate Griquas
WESTERN Province’s chances of winning their first away Currie Cup match of the season probably depends on their mindset, so Griquas have probably not done their cause any good ahead of today’s fixture in Kimberley.
From a glance back over the recent Super Rugby season, and indeed rugby in general over the past while, it becomes evident that there are many games that are decided by the attitude of the players. The Southern Kings’s draw with the Brumbies in Canberra almost certainly wouldn’t have happened were it not for the probability that Jake White’s team though they would be easy victims.
There have been many other instances in that competition where a team has just failed to pitch, and there is probably a reason why the Crusaders have often tended to be more vulnerable to bottom ranked teams like the Force and Rebels than they have to sides like the Stormers.
An example of it happening in the Currie Cup may well have been last year’s final, when an understrength WP team travelled to Durban as overwhelming underdogs against a Sharks team who had smashed the Blue Bulls the previous week. There should never be an excuse for lacking focus in a final, but the Sharks had got the better of Province several times in the course of last season.
The bottom line is that in an age where there are tough games every week it is hard for the players not to pace themselves and to feel they can coast a bit when they come up against a team they feel they are superior to.
That used to be the case with teams travelling to Kimberley, and it may explain why for a while WP had a poor record there. But as Griquas started to make a habit of upsetting not just Province but Kimberley as having been a “banana peel” for his team in the past. The thing about that reference is that it applies because people slip only on banana peels they don’t expect to be where they are.
WP can’t refer to Kimberley as a banana peel any more as they know it’s there. The venue for today’s game is more like an ice-rink, in the sense that you can’t possibly miss it and you know what will happen if you don’t venture onto it with due caution. And if you run onto it at 100km an hour without focusing, you’re just stupid and deserve the inevitable bruises that you will get when you somersault onto the ice.
The bruises WP would sustain if they lacked focus today would be figurative as well as physical. It probably won’t happen, for if there was a chance of them lacking the 20 or so percent of focus that is enough to come unstuck in any game in this competition, it was probably erased by the events of the opening weekend.
Griquas reminded the other teams of what perils may lie in wait in Kimberley when they shocked the Sharks in Durban two weeks ago, a result that the experienced Pote Human described as his best as a coach. And on the same day, WP lost concentration in the second half against the Bulls and ended up being held to a draw.
The points lost there need to be made up today, and it is another reason why WP should be expected to retain full focus today and win the match. Last week’s game against the Cheetahs was close only on the scoreboard. In reality, WP dominated that wet weather contest and they were let down only by sometimes trying to do too much with the slippery ball. It’s an irony then that they were accused of kicking too much.
Suffocate first and then penetrate seems to be the WP motto these days, and with Lourens Adriaanse not playing for Griquas and key components of their second row also missing, the first part of that should be achieved easily.
Playing on a dry surface should see the WP running game come to the fore and looking to the passing game of newcomer Kurt Coleman to ignite a backline that has Juan de Jongh, Cheslin Kolbe and Gio Aplon who can run riot.
Considering that WP are aware of the Griqua capabilities, it would be surprising if they don’t return from Kimberley with full points.