The Great Wall of WP

17/07/2010

Well, I think we are now certain of the fact that Province is building on the key element that helped them be so successful during the Super 14... defense...and man were they great!

OK let's be honest, the Lions team WP played were not so great, and later on in the second half one could see the frustration on the Lions' players faces as they gave away some of the most ridiculous penalties I have ever seen.

The closest the Lions came to scoring a try, was when they went over the scoreline, but the ref judged that the ball was held up. Pieter Louw walked pass the maul while waving his finger, and screaming: "Julle gaan nie score nie". (You are not going to score!)

At first WP got off to a slow start again, and I wondered if they were going to score any tries, (given the number of penalties they receive, who would bother scoring tries?) until Pieter Louw went over the line by shrugging off a weak tackle attempt. The second try came from Conrad Jantjes and the third from Pieter Myburgh.

At the end of the match WP had two great opportunities to score a bonus point try...but on both occasions they ran the ball over the sideline. I just hope this doesn't come back to haunt them later on in the competition. The need to capitalize when the opportunity presents itself. That was one of main differences between the Stormers and the Bulls in the Super 14. The Bulls capitalized when the opportunity arose, and thus they ended up on top of the log.

Another factor that impressed me, was the small number of penalties WP gave away when the Lions were on attack. Great Discipline!

All and all, it was a good match. Pieter Louw are starting to play better and better rugby, and I am starting to think what would have happened if Allister Coetzee played him ahead of Francois Louw in the Super 14. Not that Francois is a bad player...but it would have been interesting... Another player that just goes from strength to strength is Tim Whitehead. He broke through the Lions backline beautifully to set up Conrad Jantjes's try.

On the Lions' side...they still have a hell of a lot of work to do. If they don't beat one of the big 5 teams soon, and get some confidence within their ranks, I'm afraid it's going to be another disappointing season for them. They should also work on their discipline, and not throw in the towel when they fall behind. It doesn't look like they've got enough talent and skill to score tries. Sorry boys!