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Valuable lessons learnt for DHL WP

PUBLISHED: July 29, 2024


Backs and Attack Coach Dawie Snyman believes DHL Western Province will be stronger and more experienced after a tough Carling Currie Cup encounter at Loftus Versfeld.

DHL Western Province scored four tries in a 50-34 Carling Currie Cup defeat against the Vodacom Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday.

Value of the result

‘We did well to score those three tries in the first half, and fourth in the second, but we allowed the Vodacom Bulls to get on a roll in the second half and credit to them, they knew what they had to do at the start of the second half. But it’s a lesson learnt for the boys. Also the injury to [prop] Lizo Gqoboka forced Ali Vermaak to come on earlier than expected, and that had an influence in terms of how we could manage the game towards the end. I’m disappointed with the loss because we were in the game, even in the second half when the Vodacom Bulls played well. Building experience for us as a squad is learning from these types of games.’

Set-piece superiority

‘We did a great job in the line-outs, and also in disrupting the Vodacom Bulls’ possession at line-out time. We stole quite a few balls and disrupted their base and that was quite pleasing to see, especially our locks Gary Porter and a guy like Stassy [Hendre Stassen] operating as a combination and putting pressure on their opponents.’

Youngsters making their mark

‘It remains important for us to build depth for the DHL Stormers; our scenario is a bit different to say the Vodacom Bulls who have quite a big senior squad but our senior squad is a bit smaller. But we’ve got phenomenal young players. We’re pushing those guys quite early but it’s been great to see a guy like [debutant] Divan Fuller stand his ground, and centre Johnny Roche coming up through the system, who I thought was brilliant on Saturday. We want to try and fast track our youngsters in the Carling Currie Cup but also do well in the competition. Jurie [Matthee] is a young flyhalf who’s learning to drive the game, with the support of an experienced player like Blomme [Clayton Blommetjies].’

The bigger picture

‘Our model is identifying players who have shown something at junior level, and we know who can make it at senior level. We’ve gone with the DHL Stormers as the main team, so the likes of Fuller, Paul de Villiers coming through are great to see and in six months to a year’s time we’ll be better for it.’

Injury to Gqoboka

‘It’s a pity for Lizo because he had a bit of a run without injuries and hopefully this isn’t too bad, but he can’t seem to shake this misfortune.’