'Maybe I made a mistake': Dobson on fielding WP's URC players against Griquas

Western Province coach John Dobson says they should not let their domestic battles overshadow their exploits in Europe.

The coach saw his team slump to a 38-29 Currie Cup defeat to Griquas in Kimberley on Friday. Province were flat and second-best in almost every department, despite Dobson fielding some players from their United Rugby Championship (URC) squad, including Ruhan Nel, Hacjivah Dayimani, and Leolin Zas.

The URC player-bolstered Province were expected to dominate proceedings but lacked zest through the 80 minutes. Dobson pinned the performance on the heart-crushing disappointment of, and comedown from, falling short in the URC final against Munster the previous weekend, after the adrenaline-fuelled charge to get there.

“I tried everything to pick the team up for this but six days later, after what happened last weekend was too much for us. The Griquas were desperate, they put us under pressure,” Dobson told TimesLIVE.

“It was a disappointing performance, but from my side, I’m not too upset, it’s understandable.

“I backed us to lift ourselves but Cape Town in the last few weeks was crazy. In some ways, it’s hard to blame the players for thinking the season is finished.

“They were on a bus to Kimberley, and as hard as we tried it just wasn’t there; guys not cleaning rucks and not chasing kicks properly.

“Maybe I made a mistake by bringing the team that played against the Lions up here, maybe I made a mistake in asking some of the URC guys to play — that could be a mistake from me.”

Province now have only an outside chance of reaching the Currie Cup semifinals as they are in sixth place with 32 points with one round left. There are two remaining spots for the playoffs as the Sharks and Cheetahs have secured theirs.

WP need a bonus-point win against the Sharks at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday, and for other teams to lose to stand a chance of leapfrogging Griquas (35 points), the Bulls (36) and Pumas (36) into the top four.

Should they not make the Currie Cup playoffs, it won’t be doom and gloom in the Cape as Dobson's team enjoyed a season-and-a-half in the URC and Champions Cup, where they reached the quarterfinals.

“We have just got to be disciplined to not let what happened today affect what has been an excellent season,” the coach said.

“It’s a brilliant season, we had some nice performances. In terms of what we are trying to do — build our depth, believe we belong in Europe — it’s been a brilliant season.”

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