The DHL Western Province 2015 Vodacom Cup team officially began their preparations for the upcoming season with a 46-3 win over Sir Lowrians on Thursday night.
A DHL WP Vodacom Cup XV travelled out to Sir Lowry’s Pass for the match which was hosted in front of over 4,000 fans.
With DHL Stormers squad members Michael Willemse, Wilco Louw, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Pat Howard and Ryno Eksteen – to name just a few – in the mix, the visiting Province team were exposed to some much-needed game time.
On the field, the hosts gave a good account of themselves, especially on the physical side of things, with coach John Dobson revealing that his charges made 180 tackles against “a very committed, physical and organised Sir Lowrians team”.
Dobson told the www.wprugby.com website: “I think a lot of our players will be sore after the game. Sir Lowrians have come all the way up from the zones and are set to make quite an arrival in Super league A this season.
“In terms of us, we haven’t had our group together for long – in fact one session – but there was lots to be pleased about.
“Our players’ attitude and commitment was flawless and this is a group that’s clearly prepared to work and honoured to play for WP. There is lots of technical team work to do but that is the detail – the fundamentals are in place for a good 2015 Vodacom Cup campaign.”
Dobson also thanked Sir Lowrians for not only providing stiff opposition on the night but also for welcoming DHL Western Province with such open arms.
“It was a memorable and amazing occasion for us all,” he said.
“The community really laid it on for us. They went to enormous trouble both in terms of the facilities and the hospitality and made the evening very special for us.
“We, as the WP Vodacom Cup XV, felt privileged to be part of it. Our thanks must go to Oom John Brits and his committee for all they did for us and the community of Sir Lowry’s Pass.”
DHL Western Province will host the SWD Eagles at DHL Newlands next Saturday (March 7) in their second pre-season friendly of the year (kick-off 16h45).
Province’s first Vodacom Cup match of the year – against the Boland Cavaliers in Caledon – will take place on Saturday, March 21.
The DHL WP team (v Sir Lowrians): 15 Ryno Eksteen, 14 Willy Ambaka, 13 Pat Howard, 12 Kyle Lombard, 11 EW Viljoen, 10 Rob du Preez, 9 Godlen Masimla, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Johan Momsen, 6 Luke van der Smit, 5 Chris van Zyl, 4 David Ribbans, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Michael Willemse, 1 Alistair Vermaak.
Replacements (from): Sti Sithole, Charlton van Jaarsveld, Deacon Chowles, Burger van Niekerk, Liam Hendricks, SP Ferreira, Justin Phillips, Leolin Zas, Mat Turner, C Tabete, Grant Hermanus.
