He may have picked up a few grey hairs, but DHL Western Province coach Allister Coetzee was very pleased with his young team’s 29-22 Absa Currie Cup victory over the Free State Cheetahs on Saturday.
The Men from the Cape overturned a 13-19 half-time deficit to pick up their second win on the road this season and, in the process, move to the top of the Absa Currie Cup log.
“It was a pleasing result,” admitted Coetzee from Bloemfontein on Sunday morning. “It was a tense match, but for these laaities to come here and win in Bloemfontein… I thought they showed plenty of guts in a very tough match.
“It was especially pleasing how we fought back in the second half. We had to be physical but, at the same time, we had to be smart.
“Like I said during the week, it was never going to be a case of just pitching up (and winning in Bloemfontein), but the guys coped well under pressure and showed a great attitude,” he added.
At one stage in the first half the young WP side was without captain Deon Fourie and flank partner Rynhardt Elstadt (both in the blood bin), but the remaining senior players stood up in their absence.
One such player was inside centre Marcel Brache – the official Absa Currie Cup Man of the Match – who gave a one-handed off-load to Gio Aplon for the first try and scored the eventual match-winner just short of the 70-minute mark.
Said Coetzee: “For Marcel it’s been about gaining experience (these past few years).
“He’s now in his second full season of Currie Cup rugby and you can see his progress every time he plays. He’s our tactician in the back and he makes good calls – even under pressure.”
Of course, Coetzee, as always, remains very mindful that his young side – which included debutant Pat Howard (from the Under-21 ranks) – is still not the finished product and the DHL WP coaching staff will be targeting a few areas for improvement ahead of next week’s Sharks clash in Durban.
“There’s still a bit of work to be done,” he said.
“For starters, we conceded too many penalties (15 points conceded came from penalties), we turned the ball over a few too many times and we need to work on our bind at scrum time against a smart Cheetahs pack; I’m sure Matt (Proudfoot) will do so this week.
“We set the standard against the Bulls and we really want to stick to that,” stressed the DHL WP boss.
* A full injury report will be released later on Sunday, but Coetzee’s only immediate worry was flanker Rynhardt Elstadt who took a few knocks against the Cheetahs.
