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Cape Town - Western Province backline coach Robbie Fleck says they tried to keep things as normal as possible this week as they prepare to face the Golden Lions in the Currie Cup semi-finals in Johannesburg.
The Capetonians have had a torrid time in semi-finals of late, with the Stormers losing in the semis over the last two years and WP also going down at that stage to the Lions in last year's Currie Cup.
They last won a semi-final in 2010, when WP and the Stormers reached their respective finals. Despite the team going on to lose both those finals in 2010, Fleck says they can still draw from what went right at that stage two years ago.
"We tried to keep the team environment as normal as possible - like any other time this season," he told Die Burger's website.
"Last year we became too obsessive. We had a look at what the recipe in 2010 was, when the Stormers and WP won both their semi-finals.
"The hunger to achieve success will always be there, but the the key is how we manage things. We have to get the guys mentally strong and make sure they approach the game with confidence," he said.
The clash against the Lions kicks off at 19:00 on Saturday.
Teams:
Golden Lions:
15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Jaco Taute, 12 Alwyn Hollenbach/ Dylan des Fountain, 11 Anthony Volmink, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Michael Bondesio, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Jaco Kriel, 6 Cobus Grobbelaar, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Michael Rhodes, 3 Jacobie Adriaanse, 2 Callie Visagie, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg (captain)
Substitutes: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 CJ van der Linde/Pat Cilliers, 18 Hendrik Roodt, 19 Derick Minnie, 20 Ross Cronje, 21 Butch James, 22 Deon Helberg
Western Province:
15. Gio Aplon, 14. Gerhard van den Heever, 13. Juan de Jongh, 12. Marcel Brache, 11. Bryan Habana, 10. Demetri Catrakilis, 9. Nic Groom, 8. Duane Vermeulen, 7. Don Armand, 6. Deon Fourie (captain), 5. De Kock Steenkamp, 4. Eben Etzebeth, 3. Frans Malherbe, 2. Scarra Ntubeni, 1. Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes: 16. Deon Carstens, 17. Brok Harris, 18. Wilhelm van der Sluys, 19. Jebb Sinclair, 20. Louis Schreuder, 21. Damian de Allende, 22. Joe Pietersen
The Capetonians have had a torrid time in semi-finals of late, with the Stormers losing in the semis over the last two years and WP also going down at that stage to the Lions in last year's Currie Cup.
They last won a semi-final in 2010, when WP and the Stormers reached their respective finals. Despite the team going on to lose both those finals in 2010, Fleck says they can still draw from what went right at that stage two years ago.
"We tried to keep the team environment as normal as possible - like any other time this season," he told Die Burger's website.
"Last year we became too obsessive. We had a look at what the recipe in 2010 was, when the Stormers and WP won both their semi-finals.
"The hunger to achieve success will always be there, but the the key is how we manage things. We have to get the guys mentally strong and make sure they approach the game with confidence," he said.
The clash against the Lions kicks off at 19:00 on Saturday.
Teams:
Golden Lions:
15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Jaco Taute, 12 Alwyn Hollenbach/ Dylan des Fountain, 11 Anthony Volmink, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Michael Bondesio, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Jaco Kriel, 6 Cobus Grobbelaar, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Michael Rhodes, 3 Jacobie Adriaanse, 2 Callie Visagie, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg (captain)
Substitutes: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 CJ van der Linde/Pat Cilliers, 18 Hendrik Roodt, 19 Derick Minnie, 20 Ross Cronje, 21 Butch James, 22 Deon Helberg
Western Province:
15. Gio Aplon, 14. Gerhard van den Heever, 13. Juan de Jongh, 12. Marcel Brache, 11. Bryan Habana, 10. Demetri Catrakilis, 9. Nic Groom, 8. Duane Vermeulen, 7. Don Armand, 6. Deon Fourie (captain), 5. De Kock Steenkamp, 4. Eben Etzebeth, 3. Frans Malherbe, 2. Scarra Ntubeni, 1. Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes: 16. Deon Carstens, 17. Brok Harris, 18. Wilhelm van der Sluys, 19. Jebb Sinclair, 20. Louis Schreuder, 21. Damian de Allende, 22. Joe Pietersen
