Cape Argus E-dition

Dobson admits there’s a lot of work ahead

MORGAN BOLTON morgan.bolton@inl.co.za

“I WOULD say, judging by looking at us, if we as a team were to go out and play the British & Irish Lions, we would be in for a long afternoon."

That was Western Province coach John Dobson's frank assessment after his side lost 38-32 to the Lions at Emirates Airline Park on Wednesday night in their second matchday of the Currie Cup.

Dobson was certainly not a dejected figure after the match, and even had a smidgen of praise for his WP side after they managed to claw themselves back into the match after trailing 38-10 with 15 minutes left.

A penalty try, then two quickfire tries by Paul de Wet and Cornel Smith, and a penalty converted by flyhalf Tim Swiel, all within 10 minutes, revived his side to within striking distance of completing a remarkable come-back and claiming victory.

But it was the preceding 70-odd minutes that no doubt led to Dobson's honest assessment of their chances against rugby's most famous touring team. In that period, the WP failed to fire, and looked taken aback by the physical onslaught of the Lions. They battled at scrum-time, were bullied in the maul and in defence, and were found pondering possibilities, instead of denying the Lions their six tries.

Nevertheless, and despite that initial assessment, Dobson was also quick to note that there are a handful of positives that will strengthen their hand before they face the British & Irish Lions.

"Personnel-wise," he said, "just with the injury roster, we were our weakest we will be the entire season on Wednesday night. So, we will be better, but there will be a massive amount of work, whether that is personnel changes, or in technical details.

"Obviously, the occasion will lift the teams, I'm sure.

"All the four franchises will be lifted by the occasion. But based on tonight's game, it will be a tough afternoon, so there is a lot to happen in a short space of time for all of us.“

Dobson and Co need not concern themselves with that game just yet, although it will arguably live rentfree in his and the players' minds for the next three weeks.

What they do need to do this week is get ready for their first home game of the Currie Cup against the Sharks on Wednesday.

And despite the most recent loss, the coach expressed a degree of happiness so far with this year's iteration of the world's oldest domestic rugby competition.

"It was an early competition week," Dobson explained. "We started with two games on the Highveld four days apart and we came away with seven points, and that is probably par, even though our performance isn't what it should be.

“We've got a few guys coming back on strength over the next few weeks, so that will be useful for us. We've got two games before we go into the bubble (to face the Lions), both home games – the Sharks and the Griquas.

“If we can get through those, our team gets a bit stronger, and I think we will be reasonably well positioned in the Currie Cup.

"There is no doubt in the Western Province mindset that Joburg and Pretoria are two of the hardest places to go to. That is out of the way, so hopefully we are well poised for this competition.

"Hopefully, the worst is behind us."

SPORT

en-za

2021-06-25T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-06-25T07:00:00.0000000Z

http://capeargus.pressreader.com/article/282102049641033

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