Western Province captain Chris van Zyl has sent out a gevaarlike message to the Free State Cheetahs ahead of their Currie Cup clash in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
According to the lock, Western Province, on the verge of exiting the tournament, are hurt and with their backs to the wall, they will come out guns blazing in what is effectively a quarterfinal.
Coach John Dobson’s men find themselves in fifth place on the log after losing to Griquas last weekend and are going to Free State to win the match with a bonus point after a tough season.
Van Zyl, 33, knows they haven’t hit their straps in the tournament yet and says: “When we know what our potential is - and I think what happened is that when you start underperforming - frustration creeps in and that’s quite dangerous.
FIRED UP: Coach John Dobson. Photo: Chris Ricco/BackpagePix.
“That’s been the biggest thing - the individuals and the team getting frustrated with what we know is not our standard.
“This game for example is a quarterfinal - it’s backs against the wall, which is a bit different - which I think makes us dangerous.”
LAASTE KANS: Western Province lost to Griquas. Photo: BackpagePix.
As the Stormers, the team was in a similar situation during this year’s Super Rugby competition when they had to beat the Sharks to make the playoffs.
Unfortunately, the side led by Van Zyl on the day, lost that match right at the death.
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— WP RUGBY (@WP_RUGBY)
That match was also the last for a number of players in a Stormers jumper and should WP exit, some of the players will say goodbye to the Streeptrui as well.
Van Zyl admits that it will be an emotional affair, saying: “The overwhelming feeling around that will be that so much of this game that we play is about relationships you build.
“I’m sure in this team we’ve got great relationships and a great team culture - that needs to show in the way we play and that’s what I will be challenging guys to do, which I know we can do and that’s when we’re really at our best.”