Share

WP brace for 'awesome' Lions

Cape Town - Western Province are preparing themselves to take on a 'clinical' - and in-form - Golden Lions team when they face them in Johannesburg on Friday evening.

The Lions recorded the biggest winning margin in the 2013 Currie Cup tournament this past weekend, smashing the Blue Bulls 62-23 in Pretoria.

WP coach Allister Coetzee told the WP Rugby website: "You don't often go to Pretoria and put 60 points past the Bulls. It was an awesome performance from the Lions at Loftus Versfeld. They were clinical in everything they did and played at a very high tempo.

"The Bulls were ahead by 23-20 with thirty minutes left in the match, but the Lions, with their effective ball-in-hand style of play, scored an incredible six tries to come away with a deserved victory."

After three rounds of action, WP are the only unbeaten team in the Currie Cup at present but Coetzee admitted that they had luck on their side in their 20-19 win over Griquas in Kimberley.

"As good as the Lions were in their victory, we got something of a 'get out of jail free card' against Griquas, but, hopefully, we would have learnt our lessons from the weekend.

"Griquas were effective when they had the ball and put us under pressure, but we're expecting an even bigger challenge against the Lions in Johannesburg."

Flyhalf Gary van Aswegen - who missed the Griquas clash with a shoulder injury - returned to training on Monday and will be put through a full day's training on Tuesday.

Centre Pat Howard and utility back Michael van der Spuy, both having been battling with hamstring injuries, also returned to training on Monday - along with flyhalf Demetri Catrakilis, who is yet to play since returning to the Cape on loan from the Kings.

All four the above-mentioned players will be monitored at training over the next two days.

The WP team, to take on the Lions on Friday night (19:10 kick-off), will be announced after Tuesday's afternoon practice session at the team's training base in Bellville.
 
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should the Proteas pick Faf du Plessis for the T20 World Cup in West Indies and the United States in June?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Faf still has a lot to give ...
50% - 5 votes
No! It's time to move on ...
50% - 5 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE