Coach Allister Coetzee doesn’t want his Western Province team to curb their attacking instincts when they take on the unpredictable Griquas at Newlands tomorrow afternoon.
WP suffered their first defeat of the season against the Lions at Ellis Park last Saturday following a flat performance. The Cape side missed a plethora of tackles and weren’t accurate enough in their attacking play.
The highlight for WP was another brilliant try from a set piece. But the Lions just blew WP away with high-tempo rugby that you would normally associate the Cape side with.
Coetzee wants his team to continue on their attacking path, but he is looking for better game management from his team after they were bulldozed for 60 minutes of that contest in the loose, before waking up and securing a bonus point after the siren.
“I think we lacked a bit of composure and didn’t control the pace of the game,” Coetzee told reporters at Newlands ahead of the tomorrow’s match.
“We have learned lessons and we must make sure that we are tidy with our game management. But we are not becoming conservative in what we are doing.”
And Coetzee has certainly made his intentions to attack Griquas clear by picking SA Sevens star Justin Geduld at leftwing ahead of Pat Howard, who has not performed badly in an unfamiliar position this season.
Geduld scored a try last week against the Lions and is a dangerous runner from broken play. But he also has a big left boot that he can use.
“Pat Howard loses out. We know he is a No 13 and he has been helping us out at wing. Justin has shown a lot of no-how, being an outside back. And he covers a centre option also,” said Coetzee.
“With his left boot, he could do the same job for us that Gio (Aplon) did for us in the past.”
Geduld will line up next to fullback Cheslin Kolbe and rightwing Kobus van Wyk, who was cleared to play after suffering a blow to the head in the defeat against the Lions.
Griquas kicked a lot in their last match against the Pumas, and their flyhalf and captain Francois Brummer will certainly put up a few bombs to test the Province back three.
But he will have to be accurate, as the WP side have been given license to run back any misdirected punt from the men of the Northern Cape.
“All teams kick a lot. We also kick. But you have to understand that kicking at Newlands is different to kicking at the Highveld. We are ready, because we have a back three that punish teams that kick poorly on us,” Coetzee said.
“Our whole plan is, if it is a bad kick, that we will have a go. We have players like Cheslin Kolbe, Justin Geduld and Kobus van Wyk to have go.
“If it’s on, it’s on and we are not going to suppress that. But we have to be a bit more composed in our attack as well.”
The other change in the backline sees flyhalf Demetri Catrakilis come in at the expense of Kurt Coleman, who’s kicking out of hand left a lot to be desired against the Lions.
In the pack, Sikhumbuzo Notshe takes over the No 6 jersey from the injured Siya Kolisi, while hooker Scarra Ntubeni makes his first start of the season for WP after Stephan Coetzee didn’t recover from his ankle injury suffered against the Lions.
Coach Coetzee also decided to pack his bench with five forwards because of the expected physical onslaught.
Prop Oliver Kebble makes his return to rugby after suffering an injury during the Super Rugby season.
“With Oliver on the bench, this is a good time for us to do a five-two split before we continue in the competition. Oliver has trained well and he also needs an opportunity to play,” Coetzee said.
“He is a strong ball carrier and a strong scrumager. Hopefully, coming off the bench with a fresh front row will really help the cause.“ - Cape Times