WESTERN Province will look to game-breakers such as fullback Cheslin Kolbe and wing Seabelo Senatla to win their second Currie Cup title in three years when they face the Golden Lions at Newlands today.
Kolbe is a dashing player who has scored five tries and been credited with six try assists this year.
Senatla’s five appearances have yielded three tries and he only needs the tiniest space to demonstrate his sprinter’s genes.
This is the first time in 28 years that WP and the Lions will meet in the final. In 1986 WP won 22-9 at Newlands thanks to some brilliant individual work from key players such as centre Goggie van Heerden and wing Carel du Plessis. Kolbe and Senatla could emulate them today.
But the visitors also have a team with several X-factor players, none more eye-catching than openside flank Jaco Kriel.
He is the tournament’s leading try-scorer with nine. He has also made the most clean breaks and beaten the most defenders effecting nine pilfers as well. Kriel doesn’t shirk the defensive side of the game either with 106 tackles this season. The Lions also have a pack that has dominated most opponents at setpiece this season and from that platform Kriel in particular has been able to thrive.
But WP, besides obvious firepower with their strike runners, bring big defence to the contest.
For five years prior to this tournament, rugby in the Cape was characterised by a sterile attack and an almost watertight defence. It brought good results but only one trophy — the 2012 Currie Cup title.
After a disappointing Super Rugby tournament this year, there was a conscious emphasis at Newlands to find a better way.
Director of rugby Gert Smal, who took up his post in April, immediately set about changing the tactics from an almost 100% focus on defence to a more rounded approach.
Along with coach Allister Coetzee they developed a strategy built around bringing out the best in players such as Kolbe. With his amazing step and attacking instincts, playing a defensive-minded game was counter-intuitive.
The change in approach has reaped benefits and young players such as Kolbe, Senatla, wing Kobus van Wyk and No 8 Nizaam Carr have brought more joy to their play while older heads such as skipper Juan de Jongh and flank Rynhardt Elstadt have straddled the two eras.
But today the “Newlands faithful”, as the crowd has been dubbed, won’t care if the score is 6-3 as long as the home team win.
That scoreline is highly unlikely as the Lions like to attack if there is the smallest whiff of a try – even from 80m out. They’ve been successful against lesser opponents, but no team in the tournament has the defensive discipline of WP.
When the Lions visited Newlands earlier in the campaign they lost 27-14 despite having the bulk of possession and territory.
What they didn’t have was the patience or the tactical nous to break WP down and they were outscored by three tries to one as WP pounced on the counter.
That day centre Stokkies Hanekom was forced to play flyhalf for the Lions due to injuries to Marnitz Boshoff and Jaco van der Walt. Kriel was also left on the bench.
Hanekom did little more than ship the ball on or occasionally attack the line where a defence as organised as WP’s easily coped. It will be different today because Boshoff is back in the mix and Van der Walt, playing fullback, can also step into the flyhalf channel depending on the tactics.
The Lions pack will lay a decent platform but up front WP have been excellent. The home team might not have the scrum of the Lions but their lineout matches that of the visitors.
WP looks to strike runners
Kolbe is a dashing player who has scored five tries and been credited with six try assists this year.
Senatla’s five appearances have yielded three tries and he only needs the tiniest space to demonstrate his sprinter’s genes.
This is the first time in 28 years that WP and the Lions will meet in the final. In 1986 WP won 22-9 at Newlands thanks to some brilliant individual work from key players such as centre Goggie van Heerden and wing Carel du Plessis. Kolbe and Senatla could emulate them today.
But the visitors also have a team with several X-factor players, none more eye-catching than openside flank Jaco Kriel.
He is the tournament’s leading try-scorer with nine. He has also made the most clean breaks and beaten the most defenders effecting nine pilfers as well. Kriel doesn’t shirk the defensive side of the game either with 106 tackles this season. The Lions also have a pack that has dominated most opponents at setpiece this season and from that platform Kriel in particular has been able to thrive.
But WP, besides obvious firepower with their strike runners, bring big defence to the contest.
For five years prior to this tournament, rugby in the Cape was characterised by a sterile attack and an almost watertight defence. It brought good results but only one trophy — the 2012 Currie Cup title.
After a disappointing Super Rugby tournament this year, there was a conscious emphasis at Newlands to find a better way.
Director of rugby Gert Smal, who took up his post in April, immediately set about changing the tactics from an almost 100% focus on defence to a more rounded approach.
Along with coach Allister Coetzee they developed a strategy built around bringing out the best in players such as Kolbe. With his amazing step and attacking instincts, playing a defensive-minded game was counter-intuitive.
The change in approach has reaped benefits and young players such as Kolbe, Senatla, wing Kobus van Wyk and No 8 Nizaam Carr have brought more joy to their play while older heads such as skipper Juan de Jongh and flank Rynhardt Elstadt have straddled the two eras.
But today the “Newlands faithful”, as the crowd has been dubbed, won’t care if the score is 6-3 as long as the home team win.
That scoreline is highly unlikely as the Lions like to attack if there is the smallest whiff of a try – even from 80m out. They’ve been successful against lesser opponents, but no team in the tournament has the defensive discipline of WP.
When the Lions visited Newlands earlier in the campaign they lost 27-14 despite having the bulk of possession and territory.
What they didn’t have was the patience or the tactical nous to break WP down and they were outscored by three tries to one as WP pounced on the counter.
That day centre Stokkies Hanekom was forced to play flyhalf for the Lions due to injuries to Marnitz Boshoff and Jaco van der Walt. Kriel was also left on the bench.
Hanekom did little more than ship the ball on or occasionally attack the line where a defence as organised as WP’s easily coped. It will be different today because Boshoff is back in the mix and Van der Walt, playing fullback, can also step into the flyhalf channel depending on the tactics.
The Lions pack will lay a decent platform but up front WP have been excellent. The home team might not have the scrum of the Lions but their lineout matches that of the visitors.
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