WP taking no chances ahead of semifinal

CURRIE CUP SPOTLIGHT: Head coach John Dobson says Western Province are doing everything they can this week to ensure they are fit and firing in their Currie Cup semifinal at Newlands next week.

Having finished the league phase of the competition in second place on the standings, Western Province will host the Sharks on Saturday, January 23 at Newlands.

Following the postponement of the play-offs by a week as a precautionary measure due to COVID-19, the Western Province squad’s training schedule for the week has also been adjusted accordingly.

Players are training in groups of five, without rugby balls and while maintaining social distancing, in an effort to ensure that as many of them as possible are available for selection in the semifinal next week.

Dobson said that the focus this week is on keeping the players conditioned while taking every precaution to ensure that any potential COVID-19 impact is minimised.

"We have earned the right to host a Currie Cup semifinal at Newlands and we want to do everything we can to put out a strong team for that game next week.

"We are fortunate that we had done a lot of technical analysis on the Sharks in preparation for our final league game against them which was cancelled.

"The players are doing a lot of analysis of their own this week and we are holding regular meetings online, but we are limiting physical interaction as much as we can.

"SARU deserve enormous credit for how they have got rugby back on the field and to the sharp end of this great competition. I think we are very grateful for that, as unusual as its been," he said.

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The Western Province mentor added that the entire squad is looking forward to getting back together as a group next week and building towards what should be a great occasion at Newlands.

"This week we are working on conditioning and technical analysis so that we can give it a full crack next week for the semifinal.

"Our players and coaches cannot wait to get stuck in next week and ensure that the team that runs out at Newlands is as well-prepared as possible," he said.

Source: WP Rugby