Nama Xaba during the Western Province training session held at the Bellville High Performance Centre in Cape Town on 15 February 2022. Picture: Shaun Roy/BackpagePix
Cape Town - Conceding fewer penalties will be the key ingredient for Western Province in Wednesday’s must-win Currie Cup encounter against the Pumas at Cape Town Stadium (3pm kickoff).
That was the view of Province captain Nama Xaba on Tuesday, as the Capetonians look to stay alive in the competition.
They have lost four matches in a row now, with their lone win coming in the opening round against the Lions. They are in fifth position on the standings with seven points, two ahead of the Pumas, but eight behind fourth-placed Griquas, who have played an extra game.
So, WP simply have to win to remain in the semi-final race. “We are fortunate this week to have the same team for two games in a row, and we definitely want to feed off that,” WP coach Jerome Paarwater said on Tuesday.
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“If you look at the momentum that we’ve built, we were unlucky against Griquas, and really went out to beat the (Free State) Cheetahs. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get the points there, but we are on an upwards curve and are looking forward to tomorrow.
“We know that they are also in the same boat as us and need the points, but our guys know: nothing less than a win tomorrow.
“If you look at the log points, the team in front of us are Griquas, and we still have them at home, and a few other home games that we can get points from. We really need to step up, and we are not afraid to say that we need to get a win tomorrow.”
Xaba was one of the players who received a yellow card in the 24-17 loss to the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein last week, and despite a valiant physical effort from the visitors, they were unable to pull off a win.
Paarwater has made just one change, with Godlen Masimla coming in for Thomas Bursey at scrumhalf, and it is hoped that the continuity in selection will aid WP against the Pumas.
“It was disappointing (to lose to the Cheetahs), considering the amount of effort that the guys put in – the hits, the physicality. The big difference in that game was the discipline: we gave away far too many penalties, myself included with the yellow card. So, for tomorrow, our focus will be to be disciplined enough, and take the points on offer,” openside flank Xaba said.
“We are both in the same boat, so it’s going to be that sort of encounter – you want to take your points, be disciplined. We are not going to shy away from the fact that we need to get the win tomorrow.
“I don’t think it’s desperation from our side. We have to be confident in what we can control, and that’s what we are focusing on.”
The Pumas won’t be pushovers, though, with some battle-hardened veterans such as No 8 Willie Engelbrecht, lock Darrien Landsberg and inside centre Eddie Fouche in their ranks.
“They picked a very heavy pack of forwards, so we know what to expect from that. They’ve changed their backline – I see Lucky (Dlepu) isn’t playing at No 9 – so maybe they will come with more of a kicking game against us,” Paarwater said.
“So, we are ready for that. They are a quality side and we know they can bring the physicality, but they are also good in playing the ball out wide.”
WESTERN PROVINCE TEAM: 15 Tristan Leyds 14 Sergeal Petersen 13 Mnombo Zwelendaba 12 Cornel Smit 11 Angelo Davids 10 Kade Wolhuter 9 Godlen Masimla 8 Keke Morabe 7 Marcel Theunissen 6 Nama Xaba (captain) 5 Ben-Jason Dixon 4 Connor Evans 3 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko 2 JJ Kotze 1 Kwenzo Blose
Replacements: 16 Lukhanyo Vokozela 17 Ali Vermaak 18 Sazi Sandi 19 Simon Miller 20 Jarrod Taylor 21 Thomas Bursey 22 Tim Swiel 23 Rikus Pretorius.
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