Ex Suersport
DHL Western Province coach Allister Coetzee was only stating the obvious when he said at the post-match press conference to the weekend’s semifinal that Saturday’s Absa Currie Cup final will be between the two best teams in the competition.
That WP and the Xerox Golden Lions were in a league of their own was clear from the early rounds, when they took turns in scoring big wins over the Vodacom Blue Bulls, and Province followed up in making it a double against the Bulls by beating them at Loftus two weeks later.
The Cell C Sharks enjoyed a much easier start to the competition but generally struggled, and although they won a few games in the second round you wouldn’t have expected them to, the implosion suffered against the Lions in the semi-final was something that looked like it was coming all season.
They did beat WP away, but that needs to be seen in the context of Province fielding a second string team after having comfortably wrapped up top position on the log with a game to go.
In the end WP lost twice in the league phase, but their only proper defeat was the one at the hands of the Lions at Ellis Park. The Lions were better by some distance that day, with two late tries putting a false gloss on the final score for an outplayed Province. However, in the first round game at Newlands the hosts of Saturday’s decider won by 13 points, and it is hard to recall when last the Johannesburg team travelled to Cape Town and won.
All of that adds intrigue and interest to Saturday’s finale to the South African season, as does the relative comfort with which they both underlined their superiority over the rest of the teams in the competition in the semifinals. The Lions won by a bigger score and it was always anticipated that the Bulls had more chance of being competitive than the Sharks, but even in the Newlands match, the more closely fought of the two, WP always led by more than a score once they had crossed for Cheslin Kolbe’s early try.
Bulls supporters might argue that it could have been different had Jacques-Louis Potgieter been on target with the three kicks and a drop-goal that he missed. Successes with those kicks might have drawn the Bulls closer but it would never have won them the game, and the final difference of eight points was only that small because of a consolation try with two minutes to go when the match was over as a contest.
WP led by 15 before then so there was no prospect of the Bulls coming back and winning and the Newlands crowd had already been celebrating for several minutes. They had effectively buried the Bulls with the same defence and counter-attack concoction that saw them score a much bigger win in the first round, and the Bulls’ tactics do have to be questioned.
There was a time in the first half when their kicking game, although not on target, was troubling WP. However, once the home team went in front, the Bulls abandoned that and instead embarked on a policy that can best be described as running into blind alleys – at least against WP it is. Province love opposing teams to run at them, and although Handre Pollard, playing at inside centre, did get some thrust over the gainline, he was pretty much a loan ranger.
Which brings us to this coming Saturday and the dream final between the two teams that have consistently played the most exciting brand of rugby in the competition and scored the most tries – will the Lions persist with their running tactics or will they mix it up more against a WP team that prides itself on defensive impregnability?
Lions coach Johan Ackermann says they won’t change anything, which may be a mistake for them as it was the Sharks’ clever kicking game that broke down the WP defence in last year’s decider. Marnitz Boshoff never played either match against Province during the regular season, and with him at flyhalf, they do have a player who can bring variation to a game that fell well short when centre Stokkies Hanekom played flyhalf for the Lions on their last visit to Newlands.
That though just adds further intrigue to a match that will bring a fitting end to the South African season, with the Lions arguably being a better attacking team (in terms of carrying the ball and from phase play, WP are more of a counter-attack unit) and Province being the better defensive team.
In that regard, WP’s build-up to the final might have been better than the Lions’. The Bulls gave them enough of a work-out on defence and there was also enough opportunity for them to attack to make them feel they have tested both areas. The last two Lions wins have been by big scores and that might not be the perfect build-up to a final as they haven’t been asked to defend much.
Another question revolves around the benefit to WP of having rested all the first choice players in the last league game. In the early stages of the Bulls match, the voluntary bye looked like it might have worked against WP as they looked rusty until they scored their first try, which came from turn-over ball and involved a 70 metre sweep upfield.
However, they survived it, and this coming week is when the benefit of having allowed legs to be refreshed may come into play. At least WP will be hoping that, because there isn’t much between these teams and the Lions are certainly good enough to cancel out the Cape team’s home advantage.
Semifinal scores
Xerox Golden Lions 50 Cell C Sharks 20
DHL Western Province 31 Vodacom Blue Bulls 23
Lions probably start as favourites based on last Saturday. BUT how good were the hapless choker guppies one wonders! We shall see.
