DHL Western Province coach Allister Coetzee was more than happy with his team’s five-point effort in Absa Currie Cup action in Port Elizabeth on Friday night, but he would like to see an immediate improvement in WP’s discipline.

“One thing that we will have to get right is the penalty count,” Coetzee told www.wprugby.com, having seen three of his players yellow-carded during their 36-15 win over the Eastern Province Kings.

“We played with 14 men for 30 minutes and in terms of our standards of discipline – this is unacceptable. The players know it, we spoke about it at half-time… and it’s something that we will have to fix next week.

“That said, I was very happy with the patience we showed, when things went in a bit of a spiral with the penalties and yellow cards.

“We were able to steady the ship with young leadership and I’m very happy with that. It’s a good start for our new captain (Juan de Jongh). On the whole, there’s a bit of work to be done, but it was a good start for us.”

The Kings held a slender 11-10 half-time lead at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Friday, but the visiting DHL Western Province team upped their level of performance considerably in the second half to open their 2014 Currie Cup campaign on a high.

Coetzee, however, is not about to allow his team to rest on their laurels after just one game and he said: “There has got to be a better balance that we need to strive for. We need to play in the right areas and then (to) put the pressure on with ball in hand.

“I was a bit disappointed with our maul defence,” he added. “Then again, their (the Kings’) formation must be credited in the way they mauled and also at scrum time… I think they were really good.

“For us, having Pat Cilliers at loosehead for the first time in a while this year was a bit of a disruption in accommodating Frans Malherbe. Obviously we will have to (continue to) work hard at scrum time and, also, like our side when it comes to stopping mauls defensively.”

Hooker Tiaan Liebenberg is the major injury worry after the EP Kings game. The veteran rake is battling with a back injury, which saw him replaced at half-time in PE, but more will be known about his injury during the week.

Wing Kobus van Wyk took a slight knock to the head against the Kings and left the field early on, but he should be fit to take his place against the Blue Bulls next Saturday.

Said Coetzee: “We should get about five/six guys back from injury for next week – but then they are also underdone, so it’s a two-edged sword.

“The likes of Scarra Ntubeni, Brok Harris, Ruan Botha, Rynhardt Elstadt and Kurt Coleman, from injury, and Jaco Taute (from compassionate leave) should be good to go this week, but we need to ensure that they can come back at the same intensity as the guys who played this week against the EP Kings.”

DHL Western Province will host the Blue Bulls at DHL Newlands on Saturday, August 16.

Kick-off is at 14h00, with the Province Under-19 and Under-21 teams also in action against their Bulls counterparts at 09h45 and 11h45, respectively.

* CLICK HERE to buy tickets for Saturday!