Dobson evokes memory of Von Vollenhoven motivating WP for final

Western Province coach John Dobson and captain Chris van Zyl have challenged their team to enjoy Saturday’s Currie Cup final while embracing the rare opportunity they have to play for the title.

WP take on the Sharks at King’s Park on Saturday in a clash where they start as underdogs against a team that won 10 of its 12 pool matches.

But the visitors are not daunted by the prospect and will instead welcome the opportunity to create a little piece of history.

“Tom van Vollenhoven died last week‚” Dobson said. “He only played about 15 or 16 games in SA‚ eight of which were for the Springboks before becoming a rugby league legend at St Helens.

“He scored 392 tries in 401 games for St Helens and is one of the greats of all time in that code. But his greatest memory was playing in a Currie Cup final‚ because he only played in one.

“There are some great Springboks who have never played in a Currie Cup final and even greater Springboks such as Schalk Burger‚ who never won it.

“So the message has been to them to embrace it and enjoy it because it’s a rare achievement.

“It’s a unique event in world rugby and it will be a great occasion.”

Dobson has also claimed the underdog status and piled pressure on the Sharks.

“We are not feeling massive pressure at all because the Sharks are at home and have been the best team so far this season – they are under pressure‚” Dobson said.

“We have a tight group of players and they are desperate to win. There is nothing wrong with their mental space and they are emotionally in tune and positive about trying to win.

“If we were playing this game at Newlands‚ having topped the log‚ we would be under a lot more pressure than we are.”

Van Zyl‚ who will lead the team in the final for the first time believes his side have good momentum after beating the Sharks 31-20 two weeks ago‚ which they followed up with a 19-5 semifinal win over the Golden Lions last week.

“We took a lot out of the last few weeks and feel we have some momentum out of it‚” Van Zyl said. “There is no need to get the guys fired up for this game.

“The Sharks rely on physical dominance and they are good at it with their forwards coming around the corner. Those strong ball carriers give the halfbacks time on the ball‚ so our focus has to be to stop that momentum.”