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Cape Town - Western Province coach Allister Coetzee says his team has achieved the goals set out for several of their young players in this year's Currie Cup.
Many of Province's young guns had to make way for the return of six Springboks from the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand when Coetzee announced his side to take on the Pumas at Newlands on Saturday.
But Coetzee said he has talked to the players and they understand their role in the bigger scheme of things.
According to Die Burger newspaper, WP set out two goals for themselves before the Currie Cup season: To breed young and inexperienced players for next year's Super Rugby tournament, and to do as well as possible in the Currie Cup.
"As well as possible" has now become more of a definite belief in winning the competition and Coetzee is over the moon with what they achieved with the youngsters.
"We have to view the season in that light. Players like Marcel Brache, Siya Kolisi, Nic Groom, Berton Klaasen and Quinn Roux gained valuable experience.
"You don't get the opportunity every year to give young players between 200 and 600 minutes of game time in Currie Cup rugby. In future, it will be hugely advantageous for us and for them.
"All in all, we created wonderful depth for next year and as far as that goal goes, we were successful. The players also view it like that," said Coetzee.
Province must win against the Pumas to ensure they qualify for the semi-finals, and might need a bonus point victory if the Blue Bulls beat the Leopards by a large margin.
They are currently in fourth position on the log standings, with 36 points - one ahead of the Blue Bulls. WP's points difference (71) is also far more superior to that of the Bulls (13).
Thus, barring a huge Blue Bulls victory over the Leopards, Province would only need to claim four points against the Pumas on Saturday.
They will also have the added advantage of knowing exactly what they need to do when their game kicks off, as the men from Pretoria have their game scheduled for Friday evening at Loftus Versfeld.
Teams:
Western Province:
15 Gio Aplon, 14 JJ Engelbrecht, 13 Juan De Jongh, 12 Jean De Villiers (captain), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Nick Koster, 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Pieter Louw, 5 Adriaan Fondse, 4 Hilton Lobberts, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Deon Fourie, 1 JC Kritzinger
Substitutes: 16 Tiaan Liebenberg, 17 Frans Malherbe, 18 Tertius Daniller, 19 Schalk Burger, 20 Louis Schreuder, 21 Jaque Fourie, 22 Conrad Jantjes
Pumas:
TBA
Many of Province's young guns had to make way for the return of six Springboks from the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand when Coetzee announced his side to take on the Pumas at Newlands on Saturday.
But Coetzee said he has talked to the players and they understand their role in the bigger scheme of things.
According to Die Burger newspaper, WP set out two goals for themselves before the Currie Cup season: To breed young and inexperienced players for next year's Super Rugby tournament, and to do as well as possible in the Currie Cup.
"As well as possible" has now become more of a definite belief in winning the competition and Coetzee is over the moon with what they achieved with the youngsters.
"We have to view the season in that light. Players like Marcel Brache, Siya Kolisi, Nic Groom, Berton Klaasen and Quinn Roux gained valuable experience.
"You don't get the opportunity every year to give young players between 200 and 600 minutes of game time in Currie Cup rugby. In future, it will be hugely advantageous for us and for them.
"All in all, we created wonderful depth for next year and as far as that goal goes, we were successful. The players also view it like that," said Coetzee.
Province must win against the Pumas to ensure they qualify for the semi-finals, and might need a bonus point victory if the Blue Bulls beat the Leopards by a large margin.
They are currently in fourth position on the log standings, with 36 points - one ahead of the Blue Bulls. WP's points difference (71) is also far more superior to that of the Bulls (13).
Thus, barring a huge Blue Bulls victory over the Leopards, Province would only need to claim four points against the Pumas on Saturday.
They will also have the added advantage of knowing exactly what they need to do when their game kicks off, as the men from Pretoria have their game scheduled for Friday evening at Loftus Versfeld.
Teams:
Western Province:
15 Gio Aplon, 14 JJ Engelbrecht, 13 Juan De Jongh, 12 Jean De Villiers (captain), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Nick Koster, 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Pieter Louw, 5 Adriaan Fondse, 4 Hilton Lobberts, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Deon Fourie, 1 JC Kritzinger
Substitutes: 16 Tiaan Liebenberg, 17 Frans Malherbe, 18 Tertius Daniller, 19 Schalk Burger, 20 Louis Schreuder, 21 Jaque Fourie, 22 Conrad Jantjes
Pumas:
TBA
