Head coach John Dobson has admitted that overhauling the Western Province lineup with Vodacom URC stars against Griquas has likely cost them a Currie Cup playoff spot.
Griquas recovered from a 19-14 half-time deficit and a first-half yellow card to score five tries in a 38-29 comeback victory against WP at Griqua Park on Friday.
Province, boosted by several DHL Stormers stalwarts, had a comfortable start to the match when Paul de Wet dotted down in between a double from Marcel Theunissen.
But, former Stormers utility back George Whitehead kicked 13 points as Griquas consigned Province to a second successive loss and a sixth in a row against the men from Kimberley.
“Maybe I made a mistake in not sticking to the same youngsters that played last week,” Dobson said post match. “It was tough. We pushed through some URC guys six days later after the hype and emotion of the final, I think that was a mistake.
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“I don’t know if the guys just could not adjust, there was a real lack of intensity and it’s a sign that the team was not at the races.
“But Griquas deserved the win. It’s a disappointing way [to bow out], but it won’t spoil our season.”
While WP will lament the loss in Kimberley, the Capetonians did manage to secure a bonus point for scoring four tries. If they win their final match against the Sharks on Saturday in Cape Town and other results go their way, Province may sneak into the semi-finals.
Dobson, though, is seemingly less optimistic, and told reporters: “I think we are gone [in terms of qualifying for the playoffs]. We needed five points [against Griquas]. There’s a lot of pride, and we are going into the off-season.
“So, we don’t want to go into it with what happened the last two weeks [losses]. Make no mistakes, there were some tough words in the dressing-room. We will get a response from them this [coming] week.”
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