Bloemfontein – Springbok centre and Western Province captain Juan de Jongh has lauded his side for obtaining a home semi-final in this year’s Currie Cup after they beat the Free State Cheetahs 34-29, at the Free State stadium in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
Sitting comfortably at the top of the overall log on 39 points, Province will host a home semi-final at Newlands even if they don’t claim a single point in their last round robin match next weekend against the Sharks in Cape Town.
With eight points separating them and the second placed Lions, Province can use their last match to give some stalwarts a breather before hosting the semi in a couple of weeks time.
Against the Cheetahs it took a last grasp try by winger Kobus van Wyk against the run of play to give the visitors a bonus point victory, but De Jongh, who scored two tries amid a yellow card for a man of the match performance, was very happy with the overall result.
“It was a tight tussle and a very tight game between two very good sides,” De Jongh said afterwards.
“In the end we got the result with a bonus point so I am a very happy man.
“We still have the Sharks next weekend and for that game it was important that we keep building momentum.”
Awarded the man of the match accolade at the end of the game, De Jongh remained humble and credited the whole side for the victory.
“I got a yellow card and two tries, but this was a team effort.
“It is vital for us to go back on Monday and work on the things that did not go well against the Cheetahs.
“We have to keep working hard and look forward to taking on the Sharks at home next weekend.”
Cheetahs hooker and captain Torsten van Jaarsveld was understandably disappointed with the result as the hosts had the game in the bag before Van Wyk’s try snubbed them of a much needed bonus point victory.
“It has happened a few times in the competition that we get in a position where we need to close out games and we don’t and it costs us dearly in the end,” Van Jaarsveld said.
“It was the same thing today. Unfortunately we did not get the bounce of the ball, much like it happened in a couple of our other games, but that’s rugby.”
The Cheetahs captain said there were a couple of aspects of their game they still needed to work on before taking on the Golden Lions next week in Johannesburg.
“Against Province we played well from turnovers, but we also lost the ball quite a lot. We lacked intensity at times and that is something we need to rectify.
“It is also difficult to defend when you are going backwards. We spoke about the first time tackles before hand but at times we did not execute them well.
“Next we play the Lions in Johannesburg. We are looking for a spot in the semi-finals, but we are definitely playing for pride as well.” – Sapa