After opening their Currie Cup title defence with two convincing wins, DHL Western Province head into the bye week on top of the standings.

Bonus-point wins at DHL Newlands against the Toyota Free State Cheetahs and then away from home against the iCollege Pumas in Nelspruit mean that the defending champions have started their Currie Cup campaign in some style.

Head Coach John Dobson was pleased with his charges’ efforts in Nelspruit, as they ran in eight tries to claim a 57-28 victory against the iCollege Pumas.

Having played in wet and slippery conditions the week before at DHL Newlands, DHL Western Province embraced the opportunity to play some eye-catching running rugby in Nelspruit.

“The conditions meant that we could play more the rugby we want to play this season, with width and tempo.

“We were very pleased with our breakdown, the speed of play and the way we got through phases,” said Dobson.

While happy with the result, Dobson knows that there are still some areas in which his team can improve, which they will focus on in their bye week.

“We possibly didn’t look after the ball as much as we could have and we certainly didn’t exit well after our restarts.

“If you score eight tries then you are getting nine restarts and we weren’t as effective as we could have been, but that is something we can fix easily and work on.

“It is a tough place to play and that team was unbeaten, so we were happy with that result,” he said.

Dobson was delighted with some of the younger players who have grabbed their opportunity in the first two games of the season, as well as the contributions of Damian de Allende, Wilco Louw and Sikhumbuzo Notshe who all left for Australasia with the Springboks on the day after the win in Nelspruit.

“We were very pleased with some individual performances, I think some of youngsters like Ernst van Rhyn and Herschel Jantjies are both doing excellent jobs there.

“The Springboks played with great heart and commitment, which is great because they knew they were climbing on a plane to go on tour and the fact that they put so much in is a good reflection on them and the culture of Western Province rugby,” he said.

There were no major injuries to report, but Dobson is looking forward to having a number of players available for their next match against the Xerox Golden Lions at Emirates Airlines Park on Saturday, September 15.

“No serious injuries, Craig Barry rolled his ankle but obviously there were some guys that didn’t go on this trip like Dan Kriel, JJ Englebrecht, Salmaan Moerat, Chris Massyn and Neethling Fouche who will be rested, so it is nice to know that they will all be ready for Ellis Park for two weeks,” Dobson added.