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DHL Western Province will be looking to start the new year on a winning note when they face the Toyota Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
Having secured a 34-17 bonus-point win at DHL Newlands against Tafel Lager Griquas, DHL Western Province are intent on continuing their upward curve when they travel to the Free State this week.
With just two matches left before the Carling Currie Cup playoffs, Head Coach John Dobson knows that a win against the Toyota Cheetahs on Saturday will set his team up well heading into the knock-out phase of the competition as they target a home semifinal at DHL Newlands.
“It is a massive game for us next week, we have already spoken about the importance of recovering and getting ready for next week.
“We are desperate to play as much rugby as we can at DHL Newlands, that’s why next week is so important,” he said.
Dobson was happy with his team’s performance in sweltering conditions against a highly-motivated Tafel Lager Griquas team on Saturday.
“Credit to the players for the effort and the way they turned out to get five points against a Griquas team that has been resilient throughout the competition and unlucky at times.
“There were some nice variations in the way we peeled off the back of line-outs, came short and did some nice starter moves that gave us some momentum,” he said.
With three of their five tries coming from mauls and a number of scrum penalties too, captain Steven Kitshoff was happy with the way the forward pack took control at DHL Newlands.
“Last week we got stuck in at training, we want to be a team that mauls well, scrums well and dominates at the set-piece. Really proud of the boys and the way they pitched up to score three maul tries and get some scrum dominance, it was absolutely great.
“Very proud of how the guys were willing to work for each other, even though it wasn’t the most beautiful game to watch, it was still physical and Griquas were desperate to get a win. So we are proud of the performance and effort on the field, but we will have to fix some of the mistakes we made and the penalties we gave away,” he said.
Kitshoff is set to captain the team once more next week in the absence of regular skipper Siya Kolisi who is isolating according to COVID-19 protocols.