WP have themselves to blame

Western Province coach Allister Coetzee admitted that his side have only themselves to blame for their loss to the Lions.

The Cape side enjoyed the majority of territory and possession at Newlands on Saturday, but could not find a way through the stubborn defence of the defending champions and eventually slumped to a demoralising 22-9 defeat.

Coetzee said that it was particularly disappointing that his side did not even manage to salvage a bonus point, and admitted that they cost themselves by wasting numerous scoring opportunities.

"The amount of unforced errors were of our own making because some of them were committed at times when we were not under pressure," said Coetzee.

"Our decision-making all afternoon was poor and probably the worst was the overlap situations which potentially were scoring opportunities.

Coetzee also felt when the Lions did exert pressure, the youngsters in the team did not respond well.

"We have quite a few youngsters, many of them straight from the under-21 ranks and with very few Currie Cup matches under their belts, but they need to learn how to handle pressure," Coetzee added.

"When the pressure came they did not make the right decisions. But overall, the Lions had us under pressure when we made errors."

The victory allowed the Lions to move clear at the top of the log with a three-point lead ahead of the Sharks, while Province slipped into third place.

"There are two rounds of matches remaining in the league and we've made it very hard for ourselves to reach the play-offs," said Coetzee.

"We'll have to work harder than before to make sure we can reach the play-offs. We saw how the Lions took their opportunities and they were disciplined on the field."