The guys at Western Province Rugby are doing their all to avoid Covid-19 infections ahead of next week’s Currie Cup semifinal against the Sharks at Newlands.
The South Africa Rugby Union’s stipulations are clear ahead of the clash: “Should a team not be able to participate in the semifinal because of Covid-19 infections, that team will forfeit the match and the opposing team will progress to the final.”
Daai team is not going to be WP.
With the Sharks having cancelled both their meetings with the Capetonians this season because of the virus, Province have adjusted their training schedule. According to a press release: “Players are training in groups of five, without rugby balls and while maintaining social distancing, in an effort to ensure that as many of them as possible are available for selection in the semifinal next week.”
Coach John Dobson adds: “We have earned the right to host a Cup semifinal at Newlands and we want to do everything we can to put out a strong team for that game next week.
“We are fortunate that we had done a lot of technical analysis on the Sharks in preparation for our final league game against them which was cancelled.
“Saru deserves enormous credit for how they have got... [to] sharp end of this great competition. I think we are very grateful for that, as unusual as its been.”
Captain Siya Kolisi should be one of the players that will return to action after missing their last match because of Covid isolation.