Vodacom Super 14 players clash in Vodacom Cup
Vodacom WP coach Gary Gold deems Saturday’s Vodacom Cup match against the Natal Wildebeest at Florida Park in Ravensmead as their toughest assignment thus far this season.
Province are off to a flying start in the competition with convincing wins over the Border Bulldogs and the Elephants.
Gold, however, is under no illusion that the Durbanites would be a totally different cup of tea.
“They will be a completely different prospect. They have a lot of Super 14 players in their side and come off a good win over Free State.
“The funny thing is I know they play exactly the same plays and have the same philosophy than their Super 14 team – and anybody can see how unbelievable their Super 14 team is.”
The coach said the Province team will adapt their game tactics to the conditions on the day.
“We need to adapt our game plan on the day based on the conditions. We know the surface of the field is excellent, but also that the wind tends to howl through Ravensmead, so we need to address that situation.
“We cannot just throw the ball around with gay abandon if the wind is howling. We need to be smart, although if it is a quiet day we want to move their pack around a bit.
“We want to play a slightly different pattern to what we did recently. We believe we have a mobile young pack and we want to move them around the field, but with the correct structure.”
Gold said the mood in the Province camp was fantastic and there was a lot of confidence. “When you win by 50 points the one week and by 40 the next you can’t help but have confidence.
“But you always need balance, so although the confidence is high we must make sure our feet are firmly on the ground.
“So far so good, so we hope to continue along those lines.”
Teams for Ravensmead Vodacom WP:
15. Joe Pietersen
14. Zhahier Ryland
13. Sarel Potgieter
12. Morgan Newman
11. Hayden Groepes
10. Warren Edwards
9. Ashieq Wise
8. Pieter Louw (C)
7. David Hendricks
6. Pieter Myburgh
5. Juandre Kruger
4. Selborne Boome
3. Attie Winter
2. Deon Fourie
1. Jean Botha
Reserves
16. Simon Westraadt
17. Jan Volshenk
18. Rito Hlungwani
19. Francois Louw
20. Conrad Hoffman
21. Terry Jacobs
22. Wilfred Pieterse
Natal Wildebeest
15. Scott Spedding
14. Dusty Noble
13. Craig Burden
12. Andries Strauss
11. Lwazi Mvovo
10. Grant Rees
9. Neil Cole
8. Guthrie Hall
7. Steven Sykes
6. Thabani Sangweni
5. Johan Snyman
4. Wouter Moore
3. Robbie Harris
2. Skipper Badenhorst (Captain)
1. Raphael Houston
Reserves:
16. Jody Jenneker
17. Nardus Wessels
18. Charles Mndaweni
19. Reg Muller
20. Conrad Stoltz
21. Sandile Nxumalo
22. Riaan Swanepoel
Kick-off: 17:00
