Boland: one up
2007-05-17
Jacques Rossouw
THE Boland Cavaliers took a huge leap forward in their quest to become the eighth team in this year’s Currie Cup-competition when they beat the Mica Pumas 39-16 in Witbank on Friday.
Not only did the visitors secure a full compliment of points for a convincing victory, but they also came away with an additional bonus point for scoring five tries in this relegation match-up.
The Pumas now have the daunting task of winning the next encounter, scoring four or more tries as well as winning by a margin of 24 points or more in order to sneak ahead of the Cavaliers.
The coach of the Boland Cavaliers, Hawies Fourie, said he is proud of the team, the players and management, for showing guts.
“Despite all the criticism and financial uncertainty, we’ve pulled through. It will be a big challenge to deliver the same performance against the Pumas in the last game in Wellington.
“They are the ones with their backs to the wall now, so we have to be careful. We all know what happened between the Bulls and the Reds two weeks ago, so anything is possible.
“The biggest mistake we can make is to sit back and hope they don’t beat us by more than 24 points. We can still play a lot better.
"The Pumas will be more prepared this time round, but we will go out with a positive attitude, hungry for a win.”
Team manager, Denver Pienaar, said the team’s mindset and approach was very good. “The players were all very emotional. They played for the game of rugby and didn’t think of it in terms of money.
“They also realised that Boland’s future is in their hands. Our approach for the final game is not to have too much confidence. We need to stay humble.”
The CEO of the Boland Rugby Union, Piet Bergh, said that he too was proud of the players and management for their courage. “They will have to be careful not to think the game is already won. Everyone has been through a difficult period facing many challenges, but they managed to come out tops.
“They have a lot to achieve by winning the final game. Many of the players believe that they are able to secure their financial future with their performance and I believe it too.”
* The Boland Cavaliers take on the Mica Pumas at Boland Stadium in Wellington on Friday at 15:30. The team is: Renfred Dazel, John Daniëls, Piet van Zyl, Hennie Daniller, Jongikhaya Nokwe, Tewis de Bruyn, Neil Papier, Francois Prinsloo, Henley du Plessis, Zolani Mofu, Piet Myburgh, David de Villiers, Andries Human, Conrad Burke (captain) and Janro van Niekerk.
* Boland LSEN will play a curtain raiser against WP LSEN and this game starts at 13:45.
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