WP for Currie Cup, says departing Krige

Western Province need to win at least five of their last seven matches in the Currie Cup to be sure of making it to the play-offs.

And the way they played on Friday night in beating Griquas 63-6, this should be no problem. Indeed, their departing stalwart, Corné Krige, was so emboldened by the display at Newlands that he predicted a Currie Cup triumph for his old team in the final on October 23.

Ironically, he warned that the problem for coach Carel du Plessis would be the returning Springboks, who will be available this week, in time for the return match against Griquas in Kimberley.

The Boks will be coming off a high of Test rugby to a provincial competition where Saturday's venue is the unattractive Kimberley stadium, a paddock as hard and unforgiving as the men whose home ground it is. It is not always easy to adapt to such circumstances, the former WP skipper warned.

But WP will be buoyed by Friday night's eight-try, five-point romp which marginally improved their log position from second last to third last, but significantly boosted their confidence against a team which showed little enterprise, even less possession and brittle defence.

For Du Plessis it was heartening to see that his selection of raw players was beginning to pay off, particularly Pieter Benade at flyhalf, Corné Uys at outside centre and Earl Rose at fullback. In the pack he has a ready-made replacement for Krige in the industrious David Hendricks and his two locks of Friday night, Rob Linde and Ross Skeate, have stood up well to all opponents this season.

Monday he will sort out his casualties from Friday night, but the team appears to carrying no seriously injured players. Pieter Dixon, a crucial member of the pack, received a blow to his lower back and was replaced by David Britz, Skeate broke his nose and Hendrik Gerber suffered a blow to a shoulder.

From having had to make ends meet over the past few weeks, he will have the luxury of choice this week as his 10 Springboks return to the provincial fold. It sounds enviable; it's probably not.

In the absence of his Test players, Du Plessis has groomed a competent bunch of young players who will be hard to ignore. The coach will need to finely balance his selections: Where to play Werner Greeff, whether to rest Joe van Niekerk, how to find room for Gaffie du Toit? The list of options is as long as it is varied.

The league round of the Currie Cup ends on September 9 after which there will be two weeks of play-offs. Between then and now, WP have much lost ground to make up. They are eight points shy of the leaders, the Blue Bulls, but are only a few points off the rest of the field.

Of the five teams ahead of them on the log, they can expect to beat at least two without too much difficulty because these will be home games (the Lions on September 11 and the Natal Sharks three weeks later). In spite of the Pumas' good record at Witbank, Province will be in with a good shot against the Mpumalanga side on September 4. Bloemfontein is another matter on September 18; it is a WP graveyard.

Last-placed SWD Eagles should pose no problems at Newlands on September 24, but the final league game is against the Bulls at Loftus. If WP leave their Currie Cup play-off chances till then, heaven help them.