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Western Province will need to consider their midfield combination following their disappointing loss to the Vodacom Bulls in Newlands, he writes DYLAN JACK.
Province began its 2020 Currie Cup campaign with a 22-20 loss to a Bulls team that was forced to play 14 men for most of the second half on Saturday night. The loss left Province in third place, seven points off the top of the table, with their dream of giving Newlands a proper sendoff with a home final threatened.
However, it is the nature of Saturday’s loss that will have John Dobson and his province coaching staff scratching their heads over how they lost this, despite dominating territory and possession for much of the first half and get a couple of chances to put the game to bed in second period.
At times in the first half, Province was very lateral in attack and lacked that same incisive edge, which saw them finish their Super Rugby Unlocked campaign (like the Stormers) with comfortable wins over Griquas and the Cheetahs.
Tellingly, the only time the Corporal’s team was consistently threatening with the ball in hand was when Ruhan Nel was taken off the bench in the 54th minute, shortly after the Bulls lost Jacques van Rooyen to a red card. Nel provided try assist to Ernst van Rhyn for what seemed like the winning score, before the Bulls took the game with a couple of minutes to go.
It is quite clear that the combination between Rikus Pretorius and Dan du Plessis does not work. This is not to say that Pretorius or Du Plessis are bad players. On the contrary, both can give Province the advancement and momentum the team needs when given ball-in-hand opportunities.
However, the problem is that both players fit the typical mold of an inside center. For example, there was a period in the first half of Saturday’s game where Province pitched at 22 for the Bulls. Province had done the hard work of dragging their Bulls defenders to collapse with several carries from their forwards and there were a couple of opportunities to spread the ball and take the space wide open.
Unfortunately, at that stage, both Pretorius and Du Plessis got caught up in the breakout battle, leaving no one to tie the two playmakers, Damian Willemse and Warrick Gelant, to the wings.
Fortunately, the solution for Province is relatively simple. Instead of playing Pretorius and Du Plessis as a combination, consider them both as inner centers and rotate them. Du Plessis’ strengths are best suited to the inside of center and having him compete with Pretorius for a spot in the starting lineup will only make both players improve their game.
Nel needs to be the senior player in midfield, effectively taking the lead in this department from Jamie Roberts, whose guidance is clearly missed on this team. The former Blitzboks player is a much more natural outside center than Pretorius or Dan du Plessis and his impact in Saturday’s game wasn’t surprising in the least.
If Province wants to go for an alternative solution, it can always go for a completely new combination and start Michal Haznar in the inner center alongside Nel. The two were paired up during the province’s successful 2017 Provincial Rugby Challenge campaign and it would be interesting to see if it would perform at a higher level.
Haznar has certainly shown that he can be a force in midfield during his time at Griquas and will need an opportunity at some point in the season.
However, with the challenge of the Lions at Ellis Park looming on the horizon, Western Province has very little time to experiment. The Lions have their own star-quality midfield, with Burger Odendaal settling in well after his move from the Bulls, while Wandisile Simelane has found his form after a rocky start to the year.
What is certain is that a change is needed in this department and Province cannot afford to put Nel on the bench again.
Photo: Shaun Roy / Gallo Images
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