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DHL WP taste defeat in Pumas hit-out

PUBLISHED: July 18, 2015


The Pumas were too strong for the DHL Western Province XV at the Drakenstein Correctional Centre on Saturday, as they won 19-6, but new Absa Currie Cup coach John Dobson was happy with certain aspects of the team’s performance.

Whilst Springbok captain Jean de Villiers started the game at No.12, as he continues his comeback to top level rugby from a serious knee injury, it was a largely untried DHL WP squad that did duty against the 2015 Vodacom Cup champions in front of a huge crowd of over 7,000 at the Drakenstein Correctional Centre Sports Fields.

***DHL WP do their 67 Minutes for Mandela’with’ Mandela***

The Pumas led by 19-3 at half-time – three tries and two conversions versus one penalty goal – but the hosts fought back strongly in the second half to keep the visitors scoreless in the second forty minutes.

“It’s never nice to lose, especially when you wear a WP Disa on your chest and given the magnitude of today’s match (with it being Mandela Day) and where we played (where Mandela spent his last few months in prison), but this was a DHL WP XV and not our Absa Currie Cup team,” said Dobson.

“We need to keep perspective,” added Dobson, “at one stage we had five Under-21 players on the field, yet we still managed to keep them scoreless in the second half – it was a great effort and I was happy with some aspects of play.

“For starters, our breakdown showed an improvement. We turned over a few balls, but our own ball was a bit faster and some individuals stood out, like Huw Jones, EW Viljoen and Kobus van Wyk, and our forwards showed a big work-rate throughout.

“The Pumas have been together for about five weeks, in preparing for the Currie Cup, whereas we’ve been working together since last week only – so I am not very worried.

“Yes, losing is not acceptable, but we lost against a team that will be competitive during the Absa Currie Cup and we certainly know where we stand as step up our tournament preparations.”

De Villiers, meanwhile, played for 60 minutes against the Pumas, having had a 20-minute cameo for the Springboks against the World XV last Saturday.

Dobson told the www.wprugby.com website: “Jean was a huge help to the youngsters in the team – what an experience for them to play alongside him. He’s also very competitive and was almost like an AR (assistant referee) out there at one stage!”

DHL Western Province will travel to Plettenberg Bay next week for a four-day training camp, before they head to Port Elizabeth for their compulsory friendly against the EP Kings on Saturday, July 25.

Hooker Michael Willemse, the DHL WP XV captain on the day, limped off against the Pumas with an ankle injury in the fifth minute and is in doubt for his team’s training camp and the match against the Kings.

The DHL Western Province XV (v Pumas): 15 EW Viljoen, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Tshotsho Mbovane, 10 Brandon Thomson, 9 Godlen Masimla, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Josh Katzen, 6 Taps Tsomondo, 5 Jan de Klerk, 4 Wilhelm van der Sluys, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Michael Willemse (captain), 1 Sti Sithole.
Replacements: 16 Chad Solomon, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Jean Kleyn, 19 Justin Benn, 20 Chris Cloete, 21 Jano Vermaak, 22 Ernst Stapelberg, 23 Kyle Lombard, 24 Jarryd Sage.