DHL Western Province coach John Dobson praised the character his side showed to beat Griquas in challenging conditions in Kimberley.
DHL Western Province coach John Dobson praised the character his side showed to beat Griquas in challenging conditions in Kimberley.
In front of a packed crowd in what was a celebration of Griquas’ 130th year, DHL Western Province pulled away in the second half to record a 52-31 victory in the end.
Dobson was pleased with the character his side showed under pressure to claim the bonus-point win that keeps their Currie Cup play-off hopes very much alive.
“We knew it would be a tough game, there was a lot of hype around it and it was a geat occasion in Kimberley with the 130 year anniversary.
“They were playing good rugby, with width and tempo, so we knew it would be tough. We withstood it well, I am pleased we stood up defensively and quite pleased with some of the attack we got going in the second half.
“It was a critical win for us, so I was pleased with the character we showed,” he said.
However, that effort will be wasted if they are not able to back it up with another good performance against Boland Cavaliers at DHL Newlands this weekend.
Dobson said that they will need to take the same attitude into the clash with their near neighbours.
“We have to be as desperate this week as we were against Griquas, because the consequences of losing this week are exactly the same as last week – we won’t make the play-offs, which would be an underachievement for this group,” he said.
The DHL Western Province coach said that the key for his team will be to deal with Boland’s big ball-carriers and accurate kicking game.
“We are aware of their big ball-carriers, we have played them twice this year, once in the Currie Cup Qualifiers and in a warm-up game so we know them quite well.
They have got a good kicking game, strong ball-carriers. We know that they are a very competitive side, we are going to have to handle their kicking game, which is something that we need to improve on generally, and we are aware of their physical threat,” he added.