CAPE TOWN - Western Province coach John Dobson says he is pleased with the “tight unit” the team has become following their 28-19 victory over Griquas in the SuperSport Rugby Challenge final at Florida Park in Ravensmead on Sunday.
In front of a lively crowd Province, who went into the final with a perfect 10-out-of-10 winning record, were the favourites going into the match against the surprise finalists, Griquas, and the win was the perfect ending to what has been a superb season.
And Dobson said that it was great to see how far a team filled with a combination of players from different backgrounds has come.
“That first half was great, but I think we’ve also come a long way. This team was a combination (of) club players, disappointed Stormers players and promising Under-21 players, and we built them into a tight unit,” Dobson said.
“So there’s a great sense of accomplishment.”
Dobson also praised the Ravensmead crowd turnout and their support.
Province were clinical right from the start in an exhilarating first half and scored four impressive tries to go into the break with a 28-0 lead.
Griquas had a few good opportunities to get themselves on to the score sheet, but a few handling errors and slow work at the breakdown whenever they got into the opposition 22, especially early in the second half, didn’t help them at all, and they were kept scoreless until the 55th minute.
They did start dominating the second half, however, as the game progressed, and they started putting WP under real pressure in the third quarter. And although they scored three good tries, it wasn’t enough to claim the competition’s inaugural title.
UNDEFEATED CHAMPIONS! @WP_RUGBY #BornToRugby pic.twitter.com/NLe1dAefBE
— SS Rugby Challenge (@rugbychallenge) July 16, 2017
Points-Scorers
Western Province: Tries: Bjorn Basson, Marcello Sampson (2), Jurie van Vuuren, Conversions: Kurt Coleman (4).
Griquas: Tries: Nicolaas Oosthuizen, Kock Marx, Tertius Kruger. Conversions: André Swarts (2).