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Cape Town - Western Province coach Allister Coetzee does not mind the overflow of leadership within his team in the lead up to their Currie Cup semi-final against the Golden Lions at Newlands.
With the return of Springbok players from international duty as well as those returning from injury, Coetzee has a few tough decisions to make in the lead up to Saturday’s semi.
Other than who he will have in his starting XV, Coetzee faces the conundrum of who should lead the side out on Saturday.
Utility forward Deon Fourie, who led WP to Currie Cup glory last season, has continued to keep the ball rolling as WP ended the league phase of this season's competition as the only unbeaten team.
Furthermore, with Jean de Villiers expected to start against the Lions, Coetzee would be forgiven if he decided to hand the primary leadership role to the Springbok skipper.
"We don’t see it as a conundrum but a bonus that we have the national captain in our side as well," Coetzee told Rugby365's website.
However, Coetzee hinted at the possibility that he may stick with Fourie, for the sake of continuity.
"One must decide on the team firstly," he said.
"Deon has earned his place in the team and has led the team really well up to now.
"We have sufficient leaders in our squad, which is so needed in play-off matches, players like Schalk (Burger), Duane (Vermeulen) and Jean to help Deon."
Coetzee went onto say that the returning international players gave his side a much needed boost against the Sharks at the weekend.
"What was pleasing for me was how our Springboks settled into the team and came up with big performances.
"They really stood up for us," he said.
Coetzee stressed that it has been a long, hard season and that despite having a wide range of options available to him, a few of his charges suffered a few knocks in their triumph in the Shark Tank.
“It’s that time of the season where the workload has taken its toll and you don’t want players to train and then come Saturday they’re tired.
"You want them fresh on Saturday and that’s the challenge for us this week, to make sure the players are able to play at the same intensity they played with last weekend and even better."
Coetzee confirmed that Juan de Jongh, who pulled out of Saturday's contest at the eleventh hour, remains doubtful, but will be given the rest of the week to recover in order to be available for selection.
"At this point in time he’s still 50-50," Coetzee lamented.
"He was doing some individual testing (today) and we’ll put him through some more tomorrow.
"By Wednesday we’ll have a good indication as to how he is," said Coetzee.
"We’ll take as much time as possible to make the decision."
Kick-off for Saturday's match is scheduled for 14:30.
With the return of Springbok players from international duty as well as those returning from injury, Coetzee has a few tough decisions to make in the lead up to Saturday’s semi.
Other than who he will have in his starting XV, Coetzee faces the conundrum of who should lead the side out on Saturday.
Utility forward Deon Fourie, who led WP to Currie Cup glory last season, has continued to keep the ball rolling as WP ended the league phase of this season's competition as the only unbeaten team.
Furthermore, with Jean de Villiers expected to start against the Lions, Coetzee would be forgiven if he decided to hand the primary leadership role to the Springbok skipper.
"We don’t see it as a conundrum but a bonus that we have the national captain in our side as well," Coetzee told Rugby365's website.
However, Coetzee hinted at the possibility that he may stick with Fourie, for the sake of continuity.
"One must decide on the team firstly," he said.
"Deon has earned his place in the team and has led the team really well up to now.
"We have sufficient leaders in our squad, which is so needed in play-off matches, players like Schalk (Burger), Duane (Vermeulen) and Jean to help Deon."
Coetzee went onto say that the returning international players gave his side a much needed boost against the Sharks at the weekend.
"What was pleasing for me was how our Springboks settled into the team and came up with big performances.
"They really stood up for us," he said.
Coetzee stressed that it has been a long, hard season and that despite having a wide range of options available to him, a few of his charges suffered a few knocks in their triumph in the Shark Tank.
“It’s that time of the season where the workload has taken its toll and you don’t want players to train and then come Saturday they’re tired.
"You want them fresh on Saturday and that’s the challenge for us this week, to make sure the players are able to play at the same intensity they played with last weekend and even better."
Coetzee confirmed that Juan de Jongh, who pulled out of Saturday's contest at the eleventh hour, remains doubtful, but will be given the rest of the week to recover in order to be available for selection.
"At this point in time he’s still 50-50," Coetzee lamented.
"He was doing some individual testing (today) and we’ll put him through some more tomorrow.
"By Wednesday we’ll have a good indication as to how he is," said Coetzee.
"We’ll take as much time as possible to make the decision."
Kick-off for Saturday's match is scheduled for 14:30.
