Western Province assistant coach Labeeb Levy just wants the team “to play lekker” when they tackle the Sharks in the Currie Cup at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
Virtually out of the running for a semifinal spot heading into the final round, Province are sixth on the log and need favours from other teams and a win against the log leaders to advance.
But while their destiny is out of their hands, WP can control what they bring to the party on Saturday.
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And Levy says of what they’ll bring to the table: “If it is our last game, we want the guys to play lekker man. They must play nice, they must feel they are playing. We want them to give each other energy, we don’t necessarily want to drive the energy.
“When they’re in that state of mind, that’s when they operate. If it is our last game, we end off on a high.
“If we get another game next week, that’s next week’s problem. We want to play lekker, we want the players to enjoy themselves, that’s what works for us…
“I feel the team thrives on that positive energy.”
With rain expected in the Mother City this week, the pitch at Cape Town Stadium could prevent WP from playing a “lekker” brand of rugby.
But Levy says they must adapt.
He adds: “If it’s wet we’ll probably tweak it to be a bit more direct…
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“A late switch is as good as a step and then you eliminate the sliding option….
“But we’re not going to talk about that [the pitch], if you play at Loftus you don’t talk about altitude, altitude, you have to adapt.
“We played there in the evening when it was wet and played well with a similar game model and style.”
Province are sixth on the Currie Cup log - four points behind the third-placed placed Pumas heading into this week’s final round of fixtures.