Loosie relief for Province

Western Province coach Allister Coetzee will have a few more loose forwards to choose from as the Currie Cup reaches its climax in the next few weeks.

Nick Koster makes his long-awaited return to training this week, and Rynhardt Elstadt will be re-assessed and could be available for selection a week earlier than initially anticipated whilst Tyrone Holmes is available for selection this weekend after serving his one-match suspension.

Coetzee gave his team the day off training on Monday to ensure that they do not burn out before the end of what has been a taxing season.

"The guys will do analysis on their own and we will start our field training on Tuesday. We all know that it's been a long season, and it's certainly not over yet, so we need to manage the guys - a lot of whom are young and have had a tough workload in recent weeks," he said.

The WP coach was pleased with the way his team bounced back from their disappointing display against the Sharks last week to deal with a tricky Griquas outfit at Newlands.

"It was a pleasing result - I thought we responded well after last weekend.

"We spoke this week about facing a good Griquas side who had picked up wins against the Lions (away) and the Sharks and Bulls at home. So, yes, after the week we had... it was a good response and, like I said, a very pleasing result in the end.

"Irrespective of what happened last weekend I was pleased with how the players wore the jerseys and conducted themselves as DHL Western Province players. This was a great, great comeback," he said.

Coetzee's charges face the Golden Lions at home this weekend in a top-of-the-table clash that could have a major influence on which team finishes top of the log, and the Province coach is expecting a major challenge from the defending champions.

"I was really happy with the effort against Griquas but we know that the Lions will be a different proposition for us - as they showed against the Sharks," he said.