CAPE TOWN – Following Western Province’s narrow defeat to the Golden Lions on Saturday, coach John Dobson admitted that he made a mistake in going for the scrum instead of posts when they were 28-20 up.
Province dominated the opening half and looked well on their way to claiming a comfortable win at home, leading 21-7 at one stage.
But in the second half, the Lions came back and snatched what would have been a second Currie Cup win for Dobson’s side.
Province lost their away game against the Sharks last weekend and needed a win against the Lions to keep their hopes of hosting a semi-final alive.
They will need to win all three their remaining games to stay in the running for a play-off spot.
Madosh Tambwe of the Lions evades a tackle from Joshua Stander of Western Province during the 2019 Currie Cup game between Western Province and the Golden Lions at Newlands. Photo: Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix
“It’s very disappointing to go from 21-7 and go and lose a game like that,” Dobson said. “I thought we had a tough time with some of the interpretations at the breakdown and offside. I made a mistake in not going for poles, in hindsight I should have taken it to go 11 points clear. “
Dobson added that their decision-making let them down at times, but one positive was the fact that the team played with more intent than they had at Jonsson Kings Park. “I don’t know (what happened), to tell you the truth. I thought we played with quite a bit of effort so it’s helluva disappointing.
“We had a disruption or two before the game with SP (Marais) pulling out in the warm-up and that affected the whole kicking plan we had for the game. “We’re going to have to win every game now, we’re under real pressure. This was a game we had to win and until the 75th minute, I thought we were going to.”
Ruhan Nel of Western Province hands off Madosh Tambwe of the Lions. Photo: Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix
Province have a bye this week, before facing Griquas and the Free State Cheetahs in their last two regular-season games of the competition.
The Cheetahs are at the top of the standings, followed by Griquas, the Lions and WP in fourth spot.