Western Province coach John Dobson is not concerned that they will be without three of their Springboks for at least two weeks.
Province, who beat the Pumas 57-28 in Nelspruit last Friday, have lost Wilco Louw‚ Damian de Allende and Sikhumbuzo Notshe to the Bok squad.
However, Dobson has been able to blood several other players during the tournament.
‘Youngsters such as Herschel Jantjies and Ernst van Rhyn really stood up against the Pumas‚’ Dobson said. ‘And we still have the likes of Dan Kriel‚ Chris Massyn‚ JJ Engelbrecht and Salmaan Moerat‚ who will all be nicely rested for [the match against the Golden Lions at] Ellis Park.
‘The Springboks in the group also really played well and showed great commitment‚ which, when you consider they were jumping on a plane to join the Boks for Australia less than 24 hours after the Pumas match, shows how good the culture is in this team.’
Province top the Currie Cup log after taking maximum points from their first two games and head into a bye before travelling to Johannesburg.
‘We were reasonably happy with the performance and the conditions allowed us to play with width and tempo,’ Dobson added. ‘We slacked off a bit late in the first half‚ which allowed them two tries. But generally, I was happy with our breakdown and the speed of play.’
Photo: Dirk Kotze/Gallo Images
