Assistant coach Dawie Snyman said DHL Western Province did well to stay in the fight against the Vodacom Bulls on Saturday after an early injury to prop Lizo Gqoboka.
The Bulls overturned a 24-point deficit to beat WP in an 11-try thriller at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday. Trailing 27-3 after 37 minutes, the hosts responded with seven tries to clinch a 50-34 victory in round 4 of 2024 Currie Cup.
First-half tries from Gary Porter, Wandisile Simelane and Imad Khan, along with 12 points from the boot of Jurie Matthee powered WP into an early lead at Loftus. Angelo Davids crossed the whitewash for Province to secure their four-try bonus point as the match entered the final quarter.
Gqoboka limped off inside the opening 20 minutes of the north-south derby, and his replacement Ali Vermaak was substituted late on following a knock.
Speaking post-match at Loftus, Snyman lauded his troops for standing up to the challenge of a formidable Bulls – who are now 4-0 in this year’s competition – while acknowledging the lessons learnt for a youthful WP outfit.
“We did well to score those three tries in the first half, it was well deserved,” he told reporters. “We allowed the Bulls to get on a bit of a roll in the second half and credit to them, they knew what they had to do at the start of the second half.
“But it’s a lesson learnt for the boys. Also the injury to Lizo forced Ali to go on earlier than expected, and that had an influence in terms of how we could manage the game towards the end.
HIGHLIGHTS: Bulls still perfect
“Ali got a knock in the middle of the match and we knew he probably couldn’t finish the game, and then in the second half he felt was in a bit of trouble and we had to make that substitution.
“I’m disappointed with the loss because we were in the game, even in the second half when the Bulls played well. Building experience for us as a squad is learning from these types of games.”
On the loss of Gqoboka, Snyman adds, “Lizo started the first game of the season against the Bulls, and then had a bit of a niggle against the Cheetahs.
“It’s a pity for Lizo because he had a bit of a run without injuries and hopefully this isn’t too bad, but he can’t seem to shake this [injury burden] off his back.”
Snyman believes WP, and the DHL Stormers, will be stronger for the experience going forward. Junior Springbok flanker Divan Fuller made his senior debut on Saturday while Matthee, Gary Porter, Hendre Stassen and Jonathan Roche continue to impress.
“We did a great job in the lineouts, and also in disrupting the Bulls; we stole quite a few balls and disrupted their base and that was quite pleasing to see. Especially our locks Gary and a guy like Stassy operating as a combination,” Snyman said.
“It remains important for us to build depth for the DHL Stormers; our scenario is a bit different to say the Bulls who have quite a big senior squad but our senior squad is a bit smaller, but we’ve got phenomenal young players.
“We’re pushing those guys quite early but it’s been great to see a guy like Divan Fuller stand his ground. Johnny was brilliant, and Jurie is a young flyhalf who’s learning to drive the game.
“We’ve gone with the priority which is the Stormers as the main team, so the likes of Fuller, Paul de Villiers coming through is great to see and in six months to a year’s time we’ll be better for it.”
Photo: Khulani Media
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