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Defence coach pleased with WP's effort

Cape Town - Western Province defence coach, Norman Laker, believes the team’s frailties while defending are a thing of the past.

Laker said he was pleased with the team’s defensive effort against the Sharks in Durban last weekend.

The Capetonians trailed 13-3 at half-time, before scoring four second half tries to claim a 31-20 win.

The victory enabled them to secure a home Currie Cup semi-final against the Golden Lions at Newlands this Saturday.

“After their early try (the Sharks scored in the third minute), they only scored next in the 80th minute,” Laker told Netwerk24. “This is proof of the team’s character and how hard they work for each other. We could have done a bit better on defence in the first half, but the excellence performance in the second half showed the standards we would liked to have maintained this season.”

Through defensive lapses, Western Province let slip handy advantages on a few occasions during the season - against Griquas, Pumas and Golden Lions they led by 10 points in the second period only end on the losing side - but Laker believes they have turned the corner.

“We decided against the Sharks that when we have a lead we must ensure we keep building pressure.”

WP’s 29-20 loss to the Lions at Ellis Park earlier this month was seen as a game that got away and they will be eager to turn the tables on Saturday (17:00 kick-off).

Their last Currie Cup success came in 2014 when they beat the Lions 19-16 in the final at Newlands.

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