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Cape Town - Former Springbok coach Nick Mallett says it's pleasing to see teams employ enterprising, attacking styles in this year's Currie Cup.
Mallett was speaking in the SuperSport studio after the weekend's matches.
On Friday, the Pumas stunned the Sharks 32-22, while on Saturday Free State beat Griquas 36-25 in Kimberley, WP beat the Bulls 23-18 in Pretoria, and the Lions outclassed the Kings 41-22 in Port Elizabeth.
In his analyses on the weekend's action, Mallett said: "I feel very sorry for the Kings because they showed some good form, but they came up against a Lions side that, along with Western Province, are favourites for this competition. They scored some fantastic tries tonight and I thought the scoreline wasn't a fair reflection on the Kings' efforts.
"We're seeing some good enterprising play so far this season. Teams are willing to get the ball out wide and there's been some great interplay between backs and forwards.
"I thought the Pumas scored some great tries on Friday night. The try where (Stefan) Watermeyer threw the dummy on the inside, went through and got the offload. The one where the flyhalf went over in the corner, and another great one off the back of a lineout, where Watermeyer scored himself. I thought he had a great game.
"It's so nice to be able to talk about backline players handling the ball as much as they are at the moment and good interplay between forwards and backs, without losing any impact at set pieces or on defence.
"Western Province are really playing some nice, attacking, 15-man rugby at the moment. They're proving that you can play attractive rugby and still be successful.
"I enjoyed all four games and saw a lot of young players making their mark. I think there'll be a couple Super Rugby coaches having a look at them.
"The coaches are giving their players the confidence to play. Instead of telling them to not make mistakes, they're encouraging them to go out there, to create opportunities and to score tries."
In this weekend's action, WP host the EP Kings in Cape Town (Friday, 19:10), Free State tackle the Pumas in Bloemfontein (Saturday, 15:00), the Sharks face Griquas in Durban (Saturday, 17:05) and the Blue Bulls duel with the Lions in Pretoria (19:10).
Mallett was speaking in the SuperSport studio after the weekend's matches.
On Friday, the Pumas stunned the Sharks 32-22, while on Saturday Free State beat Griquas 36-25 in Kimberley, WP beat the Bulls 23-18 in Pretoria, and the Lions outclassed the Kings 41-22 in Port Elizabeth.
In his analyses on the weekend's action, Mallett said: "I feel very sorry for the Kings because they showed some good form, but they came up against a Lions side that, along with Western Province, are favourites for this competition. They scored some fantastic tries tonight and I thought the scoreline wasn't a fair reflection on the Kings' efforts.
"We're seeing some good enterprising play so far this season. Teams are willing to get the ball out wide and there's been some great interplay between backs and forwards.
"I thought the Pumas scored some great tries on Friday night. The try where (Stefan) Watermeyer threw the dummy on the inside, went through and got the offload. The one where the flyhalf went over in the corner, and another great one off the back of a lineout, where Watermeyer scored himself. I thought he had a great game.
"It's so nice to be able to talk about backline players handling the ball as much as they are at the moment and good interplay between forwards and backs, without losing any impact at set pieces or on defence.
"Western Province are really playing some nice, attacking, 15-man rugby at the moment. They're proving that you can play attractive rugby and still be successful.
"I enjoyed all four games and saw a lot of young players making their mark. I think there'll be a couple Super Rugby coaches having a look at them.
"The coaches are giving their players the confidence to play. Instead of telling them to not make mistakes, they're encouraging them to go out there, to create opportunities and to score tries."
In this weekend's action, WP host the EP Kings in Cape Town (Friday, 19:10), Free State tackle the Pumas in Bloemfontein (Saturday, 15:00), the Sharks face Griquas in Durban (Saturday, 17:05) and the Blue Bulls duel with the Lions in Pretoria (19:10).
