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- WP coach John Dobson expects his players to have "challenges" against a strong Bulls team, but he insists they will show "fight and spirit".
- After losing 63-15 to the Pumas last weekend, the Bulls have picked a line-up laden with URC players for the clash.
- WP captain Ernst van Rhyn stressed the importance of pitching up physically on Friday night.
Western Province coach John Dobson says they are eager to make their loyal fans proud when they duel against the Bulls in a Currie Cup clash in Pretoria on Friday night.
WP opened their Currie Cup campaign with an impressive 44-28 win over the Lions in Johannesburg last weekend, while the Bulls were thumped 63-15 at home by the Pumas.
After their embarrassing defeat to the defending champions, the Bulls loaded their team with URC players while WP opted for a largely second-string outfit.
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After naming his team, Dobson took heart from the Stormers' recent success at Loftus Versfeld when they upset the Bulls 23-19 in a URC clash on 18 February.
"We see this as our biggest rivalry ... we could see that a couple of weeks ago up there at Loftus with the Stormers, all those striped jerseys in the stands. Us and the Bulls have done a great job over the last while stoking that [rivalry]," Dobson told reporters after naming his WP team on Thursday.
"There's just something about that light blue jersey versus the blue-and-white stripes that's just a beautiful sight."
Dobson said he took note of the Pumas' heroics at Loftus and expected the Bulls to field a strong team this weekend.
"We'll have our challenges tomorrow, and no doubt the Bulls will be putting out a strong side, a more URC-based team. We're not going that route, but there's a lot of pride in this group, and we're going to fight tomorrow night."
"I dream, and fear, weekends as a coach of what happened last Sunday. As well as the Pumas played, it was extraordinary. Everything just stuck for them. We were a bit lucky to win away there last time with our URC team, so [we] can't be complacent with our Currie Cup team.
"We've just got to try and do something special there and make Cape Town proud. This game is not a knockout game, it's a second-rounder in a 14-game Currie Cup. So, we'll be prepared for tomorrow (Friday), and will no doubt show some of our fight and spirit."
WP captain Ernst van Rhyn added that they had to make sure they pitched up physically on Friday night.
"It might be a more physically experienced Bulls pack, so we'll work for each other and focus on that.
"We'll take some confidence from last week's win, but the Bulls are a different challenge, especially from set-pieces like the lineouts, so we need to make sure we stop them there."
Friday's clash at Loftus Versfeld kicks off at 19:05.
Teams:
Bulls
15 David Kriel, 14 Quewin Nortje, 13 Cornal Hendricks, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Sbu Nkosi, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Zak Burger, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Cyle Brink, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje (captain), 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp
Substitutes: 16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Janko Swanepoel, 20 WJ Steenkamp, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Morne Steyn, 23 Stedman Gans
WP
15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 11 Ruhan Nel, 10 Kade Wolhuter, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Keke Morabe, 7 Willie Engelbrecht, 6 Marcel Theunissen, 5 Connor Evans, 4 Ernst van Rhyn (captain), 3 Sazi Sandi, 2 Andre-Hugo Venter, 1 Kwenzo Blose
Substitutes: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 19 Dylan de Leeuw, 20 Ben-Jason Dixon, 21 Hacjivah Dayimani, 22 Godlen Masimla, 23 Bruce Sherwood
