Fleck wants WP to complete hat-trick over ‘Cheetahs cubs’

COACH Robbie Fleck says his Western Province Under-21s can match and beat the Free State Cheetahs for a third time this season when the two rivals square up in the competition final at Ellis Park in Johannesburg today (kickoff 11.15am).

In his debut season as a head coach, Fleck – the Stormers’ backline coach – has every reason to feel bullish about going all the way.

His charges, 80 percent of whom will be back for duty next season, have seen off all but one challenger they’ve faced on an unbeaten run stretching 12 games. The opening-round loss to the Sharks on home turf in July in the league phase was their only blemish.

Against the Cheetahs in the roundrobin stages, WP won the first encounter in Cape Town 22-0 before being pushed all the way in the reverse fixture, the Freestaters mak- ing a fist of it in a 38-35 loss in Bloemfontein.

Province won 10 games overall and drew the second outing against the Sharks to top the seven- team standings with 52 points, seven clear of the Cheetahs. Both sides secured home semi-finals last weekend, WP hosting the Golden Lions, who finished fourth, and the runners- up welcoming the thirdplaced Sharks.

Province beat the Lions 43-20 to secure their spot in the final, while the Cheetahs ended the Sharks hopes with a hard-fought 27-22 victory to book their place in the trophy match.

Now for the finale at the home of the Lions. “We’re looking forward to the game,” Fleck said.

“Our opponents, who we rate as the best we’ve come up against, will be equally determined to come out on top and take home the silverware.

“They’ve got a strong pack and their backs are dangerous runners off any platform, and they play for the full 80 minutes and fear little come big games like this one as they’ve shown before.

“For us, a successful campaign so far. Our pre-season goal was to make it into the final, we’ve achieved that, now for the main prize, the trophy that eluded our grasp in the defeat to the Blue Bulls on our home field at Newlands last season.”

This will be the fifth time in six seasons WP have contested the final, and the 2010 and 2013 champions will want to show they’re no chokers when it comes to delivering the goods.

“We’ve had our trials and tribulations in previous finals, we’ve come off second best, so we know what it feels like,” Fleck said. “But that’s for the record books. Today, we run out onto a venue where we’ve won before and I have every reason to believe that we can complete the hat-trick over the Cheetah cubs and return home with the trophy.”

It must be pointed out that the Freestaters were the leading try-scorers heading into the playoffs, dotting down 68 times compared to WP’s 59, while were also joint second- best defensive unit along with the Lions.

Not to forget mention that they had the Sharks’ number on all three occasions they met this season, the 74-22 mauling of the Durban franchise in the second-round encounter showing just how much of a threat they will pose for Fleck’s talented squad.