DHL Western Province face a testing week with matches against the Tafel Lager Griquas in Kimberley and the Vodacom Blue Bulls at DHL Newlands.
Having picked up their first win of the Currie Cup by beating the Steval Pumas 34-19 at DHL Newlands on Saturday, coach John Dobson’s team will have their work cut out for them with a demanding schedule in the coming week.
They face Tafel Lager Griquas in Kimberley on Wednesday, ahead of the big North-South derby against the Vodacom Blue Bulls at DHL Newlands on Saturday.
Despite trailing the Steval Pumas at half-time, DHL Western Province fought back admirably with four tries in the second half to seal the bonus-point win.
Dobson was happy with the fight his team showed under pressure and is hopeful that they will be able to build on that in their next two games.
“We said that this was the launch of our campaign rather than last week, so hopefully we can build some rhythm now,” he said.
While it will be demanding for the players to play three games in the space of just seven days, Dobson would like to keep the changes to a minimum this week in a bid to build some continuity and cohesion in the team.
“We want to get maximum points from these upcoming games, so where it is a 50/50 call we will put someone on the bench.
“But we can’t have a half-new team against Griquas and then a half-new team again against the Blue Bulls,” he said.
With a number of players having been rested for their opening encounter against the defending champions Toyota Free State Cheetahs, Dobson is looking to build some momentum in what will be a tough week ahead.
“It was more a case that we gave some guys a rest last week so that we would be able to squeeze them a bit this week.
“So there won’t be as many changes as we thought and maybe not as many changes as some other unions will make.
“We have got another two games in the next seven days, so we are looking forward to when we can play once a week,” he added.