Province left to sweat over Greeff

There was an added sting to Western Province's lousy weekend on Saturday when it emerged that Werner Greeff will face a disciplinary hearing on Thursday.

Coach Kobus van der Merwe wants to start Greeff at inside centre in Saturday's must-win Currie Cup match against Griquas at Newlands, but the Springbok's dismissal last week while playing for Victorians against UCT means WP will have to prepare with a contingency plan in mind.

"There is no preferential treatment for provincial players. If need be they will slap a ban on him. They won't clear him for WP's sake," said WP Rugby Football Union deputy chief executive Herman Abrahams.

Fortunately Greeff collected two yellow cards and did not receive a straight red card for violent conduct.

This means that the committee may decide that his sending-off was sufficient punishment.

However, it's an unwelcome distraction in an important week. Province's 42-36 loss to the Lions at Ellis Park on Saturday has left them in a position where defeat to Griquas will more than likely see them miss out on the semifinals.

Greeff is back in the mix after a lengthy period out with a neck injury. Van der Merwe already told journalists last week that he would like to involve the player against Griquas and will be all the more keen to do so after Saturday.

After running amok in the blind school the previous week, Sarel Potgieter was exposed defensively in the big league. The obvious course of action is for Greeff to be drafted in at inside centre and for Corne Uys to move to No 13.

Van der Merwe will also be forced into a change on the wing after Zhahier Ryland hurt his shoulder against the Lions. However, that is the least of WP's problems as they can call on Joe Pietersen or Egon Seconds.

It was a combination of the poor midfield defence and flyhalf Naas Olivier's mediocre goalkicking (he missed five out of nine kicks) that was still eating away at the coach yesterday.

"With the kicking I suppose Naas just had one of those off days, but at this level you can't afford a 50 percent ratio," said Van der Merwe. "The defence wasn't down to technique. It simply boiled down to tackles that had to be made."

Lions centre Jaco Pretorius was the main beneficiary of the defensive ineptitude. Fair game to him and namesake Andre for the manner in which they combined, but this was a match that WP should have won.

It's revealing, however, that when Uys crossed the line in the 70th minute they had scored their fifth try to the Lions' two. However, they only led 33-30 at the time and the Lions scored two tries in the last five minutes to clinch it.

"We looked very confident when attacking. It's a good effort to score five tries at Ellis Park. We simply had to make our tackles," said Van der Merwe.

There were other shortcomings as well. Province were on the back foot early as a result of errors and also need to work on their receiving at kick-offs.

Fortunately all is not lost and WP can still qualify for a home semifinal. They are one point behind the second-placed Blue Bulls, who appear to be the side in the biggest danger of being caught by the Lions.

The Cheetahs are the only team sure of a home semifinal, but will still be going flat-out for the win as it will mean that they top the log and host the final if they progress that far.

If the Bulls fail, they could be caught by the Lions, who should make it eight wins from as many games when they play the Pumas on Saturday.

The Sharks are fourth following Saturday's defeat to the Cheetahs, but aren't in significant danger of losing out on the semifinals as they play the Falcons on Saturday.

Griquas were thrashed by the Blue Bulls in Kimberley at the weekend and one would not expect WP to have too much trouble with them at Newlands.

"They always give you a tough game and at halftime were still in the game against the Bulls," said Van der Merwe. "But we should pull it off."

Meanwhile, WP have moved to secure Sireli Naqelevuki's services for next year's Super 14.

The giant Fijian was expected to head back home after the Currie Cup, but has had a big enough impact to convince WP that he can add value to the Stormers.

Naqelevuki scored a hat trick of tries in WP's 42-36 defeat to the Lions at Ellis Park on Saturday and his physique has clearly given them an added dimension.

"Sireli showed just what a class player he is. He wants to stay and we have already ensured that we will have him for the Super 14," said Van der Merwe.