Cape Town - Western Province are hoping that a contingent of Stormers will help them to stop a two-match losing streak against Griquas on Friday.
The men from Kimberley beat the Capetonians 30-28 in the Mother City last July, before pulling off a 46-25 triumph in the Northern Cape in August.
Griquas went all the way to the Currie Cup semi-finals, where they went down 28-24 to the Sharks in Durban, and will hope to pull off another upset over Province on Friday (7pm kickoff) in Kimberley.
WP are also smarting from a defeat in their last match, 35-20 against the Sharks at Kings Park, and Jerome Paarwater’s team will be aiming for a full five points to get back on track, as they currently sixth on the log on points difference.
Province assistant coach Nazeem Adams confirmed during an online press conference this week that there will be some players from the Stormers squad reinforcing the WP side against Griquas.
He said he was still waiting on that list of players, but one would think that someone like wing Angelo Davids could get some game time, after sitting on the Stormers bench against the Sharks last week.
It will also be interesting to see whether promising youngster Kade Wolhuter starts at flyhalf, after the experienced Tim Swiel captained WP in their last game.
Other injury absentees in recent weeks include No 8 Evan Roos, lock Salmaan Moerat and centre Rikus Pretorius, and some of them may be ready to get some time off the bench against Griquas, ahead of the Stormers’ trip to Ireland next week to take on Connacht in Galway.
Adams said that WP have trained alongside the Stormers squad over the last few weeks, which has made him feel “very positive” going into the Griquas game.
“It’s always tough going to Kimberley to play Griquas. For them, it’s like playing against a Super Rugby team – it’s a big thing for them. We lost both Currie Cup games last season, home and away. We are looking forward to it, but are under no illusions that it’s going to be a tough game,” Adams said.
“What we’ve worked on over the last couple of weeks especially is our execution, and when we have an opportunity to score, and get points on the board – turning pressure into points. That is something that we haven’t done consistently, so we would like to see that we are able to do that.”
Griquas can give their full attention to the Currie Cup, as they don’t compete in the United Rugby Championship, and Adams said that the home side will want to prove a point against a franchise union.
“When they play against teams like Province or the Bulls, they just put in another 56 percent extra. And we expect them to come out hard,” he said.
“They are quite physical and they never go away. You might be leading by 10 or 20 points, but they will play until the last minute. So, you can’t give them any freebies, because they will take advantage of that.
“So, our focus will be on executing and looking at how we want to play the game, and stamp our authority on the game. If you look at the log, it is quite close with all the teams, and each and every point is going to be important. We foresee a tough battle there.”
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