Van Zyl takes WP reins, possibly for the season
WP coach John Dobson has given lock Chris van Zyl the captaincy duties for the Currie Cup opener against old enemy the Blue Bull.
|||Cape Town - Western Province coach John Dobson has given lock Chris van Zyl the captaincy duties for the Currie Cup opener against old enemy the Blue Bulls at Loftus on Friday - and he may lead WP for the whole season.
Nizaam Carr was another candidate for the leadership role in the absence of veteran Schalk Burger, who joined English Premiership side Saracens, and Stormers co-captains Juan de Jongh (Springbok Sevens) and Frans Malherbe (neck injury).
But, as Dobson is still uncertain about Carr’s fitness following the shoulder injury he sustained during the Stormers’ record win over the Rebels in Melbourne, Van Zyl will lead the men in blue and white at fortress Loftus.
WP are looking at the competition in two parts and are planning to reassess the team after Friday’s contest in Pretoria (kickoff 5.10pm). When asked if Van Zyl would wear the captain’s armband for the whole season, Dobson joked: “Are you mad? That’ll be the end of my job.”
“The truth is, in all likelihood (Van Zyl will be the captain for the season). We had to plan for this game as if the Stormers were in the (Super Rugby) final. So we took a dual sort of campaign. We (were going to) Loftus with the Currie Cup qualifying team, which is not going to be the case now because the Stormers are available.
“Then next week we’ve got a bye and we’re going to go on camp, so then in camp we’ll choose our full leadership. We will do what we can at Loftus, where Chris will be the captain, and we will reassess afterwards. This was always the plan. So this is almost like a mini campaign of trying to do what we can at Loftus. It’s going to be a very tough game for us,” Dobson added.
WP steamrolled through the Currie Cup qualifiers, winning 13 of their 14 games to finish top of the log, five points clear of runners-up Griquas.
But Dobson says their Currie Cup preparation has been hindered by the abrupt transition from Super Rugby.
“It has come quicker than last year (the Currie Cup competition). The season format is a challenge. These guys played quarter-final, the Lions are going to be playing with their B team on Friday.
Last season they had a little bit of breathing space in between to do a decent pre-season, but we’ve had a few days, so it’s a challenge.”
“We couldn’t give the Super Rugby guys a week off. That’s tough because we wanted to give them a full week but we were scrumming and training (last) Thursday and Friday. Because we’re playing a Friday game we only have two days to train this week. They’ve come back enthusiastic,” Dobson said.
WP will also be without scrumhalves Nic Groom (Northampton Saints) and Louis Schreuder (Kubota Spears), while scrum master Vincent Koch will be playing for the Pumas and Springboks.
Oli Kebble, Alistair Vermaak, Bongi Mbonambi, Scarra Ntubeni, Wilco Louw and Rynhardt Elstadt will all be available, while lock Jean Kleyn will run out for WP before moving to Munster in Ireland.
Dobson will also have the Super Rugby backline of Jano Vermaak, Robert du Preez, Dan du Plessis, Huw Jones, Leolin Zas, Kobus van Wyk and Jaco Taute, while Scott van Breda is also available.
But, despite his “nice team”, Dobson also made it clear that his team will definitely be the underdogs at Loftus.
“I don’t want to make excuses, but Nollis Marais should go and work for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton if he can claim the underdog tag in this one. He would be a spin master of note,” Dobson quipped.
“We had a hard time when we lost at Loftus in Super Rugby. We’ve given away a whole pack of forwards to various other things, whether it’s overseas or the Springboks and they haven’t given away nearly as much, so it’s going to be a very tough game for us. But we’ll just pick ourselves up for one big game at the start and then reassess next week. We’ll put everything into this.”
However, the WP mentor is hoping to inject his side with some firepower after the Rio Olympics. Scintillating Cheslin Kolbe and Juan de Jongh are expected to return after the sporting spectacle, while Sevens sensation Sebelo Senatla is also on Dobson’s wishlist.
Another player who Dobson is looking forward to seeing on the field is scrumhalf Godlen Masimla, who has had his opportunities cut down after multiple concussions this season.
“You’re never sure if Godlen’s concussed or not. He’s played the last four or five games in a row and he seems to get better and better in every game. So I want to give him a proper opportunity in this Currie Cup. There’s something special about him, but he needs to play, that’s his issue. There are scrumhalves who have played 80 or 90 Tests who are not in his league. This is a special scrumhalf,” Dobson said.
Cape Argus