Rusty win

12/07/2010

Wester Province 25 - Cheetahs 11

Bloemfontein

Finally the start of the 2010 Currie Cup season. Things will be a bit different for Province this time around as they have lost a lot of their first choice players to the Springboks, and those players will only be available again for the semi-finals.

I knew that playing the Cheetahs at Bloemfontein in your first match were always going to be tough, but in the first 30 minutes of the match Province made it a lot tougher than it should have been. A lot of aimless kicks from Willem de Waal and Conrad Jantjes saw Province struggling to get their hands on the ball, and after the first quarter they almost made three times the amount of tackles than the Cheetahs. One of the aimless kicks also resulted in the first try for the Cheetahs scored by Tewis de Bruyn. It was a bit sad to see so many kicks, and not see the young backline in action. Their centres and wings rarely got the ball and a opportunity to run. Spread the ball wide, and play some old school Province running rugby.

A great kicking display by Willem de Waal, but still some question marks about his ability to get the backline on the front foot, which Peter Grant did brilliantly during the Super 14 season. Province needs a more attacking flyhalf, maybe Lionel Cronje. But then again they also need a good kicker, like Willem...a bit of a win lose situation in my opinion.

At the end of the day Province battled through to a good victory because of some amazing defense and a strong forwards display. Clearly Alistair Coetzee is building on their successful defensive structures used during the Super 14, which resulted in the Stormers having the best points difference by far.

It's great to see that Province can now brag with a front row who can compete with anybody in the business. Also a lot of youngsters coming through like Ryno Elstadt, which is great for the future of the team.

The first match of any rugby competition is going to be a scrappy affair, and a win is a win, but if Province want to make inroads into the competition they will need to keep possession, put the phases together, and spread the ball wide. Still a good performance after a long time off. Next weeks game will be a big one against the Lions who thrashed the Leopards in their first game.