Coetzee remaining grounded

Cape Town - Western Province coach Allister Coetzee is not getting carried away after his side's 36-12 bonus-point win over Griquas on Saturday at Newlands.

Despite the victory Coetzee was displeased with the manner Province allowed Griquas back into the match in the closing stages.

"Five points at home - I'll say it is mission accomplished for us, but I must add I was not overly happy with our performance," Coetzee said.

"We dropped off a bit when we held a big lead and it's something we need to address this week at training."

He said the team lost structure at the end when Griquas' second-half pressure seemed to be draining efforts on defence.

"We allowed the opposition to get between us because we were trying things outside our structure.

"We paid the price for not being accurate for 80 minutes and it's something that we need to rectify in the coming weeks."

Province however, finished on a high with an 84th minute try minutes after the full-time hooter sounded.

"It was clear that the players were not happy with their display and probably that's why they threw everything into the fray at the end," he said.

Debutants Sikhumbuzo Notshe and Justin Geduld justified their selections with stellar performances that included tries for both.

Hooker Scarra Ntubeni signalled his return from a long injury lay-off with a man-of-the-match performance.

"Our selections (Notshe and Geduld) paid off. Scarra didn't start a match in a long time and he'll get better with time. I thought we scrummed well and our maul was excellent."

Griquas coach Hawies Fourie said his side's chance of victory disappeared when Province scored three tries after only 24 minutes play.

"There were too many penalties against us and top of those two strong driving mauls by Province took us totally out of the game," Fourie said.

"We were a bit unlucky not to score before half-time, but those opening minutes were crucial because it settled the match as a contest."

After being displaced by the Golden Lions at the top of the log briefly following their 29-15 bonus-point win over the Pumas on Friday, Province regained the summit after the win.

With three rounds left ahead of the play-offs, Province are now four log points clear of the Lions.

Province still have to play the Pumas (away), Cheetahs (away) and Sharks (home), with the Lions on the verge of a second spot finish.