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Western Province hunting Sharks in the Currie Cup
Western Province play their third game in a row on the road as they target a win over the Sharks in Durban.
The experienced Juan de Jongh leads the Western Province Currie Cup side against the Sharks on Sunday. Picture: Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images
Western Province are gunning to continue their impressive start to the 2023 Currie Cup competition as they target another big scalp in the Sharks in their encounter at Kings Park on Sunday afternoon (kick-off 2pm).
Province, who struggled in last year’s edition finishing second from bottom of the log, have enjoyed a superb start to this year’s campaign, beating the Lions 44-28 at Ellis Park and following that up with a 41-33 win over the Bulls at Loftus to secure a brilliant Highveld double.
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They now play their third game in a row on the road and will be keen to continue that momentum against a tough Sharks team in Durban.
“It has been a good start to the Currie Cup, especially playing away from home. Playing against the Lions at Ellis Park is always tough. With the Bulls we chose a different dynamic for the game and we were fortunate to get the result,” said Province stand-in coach Labeeb Levy.
“So it’s another week and another opportunity for us to challenge a strong Sharks team away in Durban. They played really well against Griquas last weekend with an experienced team. So we are expecting the same from them this weekend.”
High scoring thriller
It was a high scoring thriller in Kimberley and although the Sharks lost the match 48-42, they have still enjoyed a decent start to the competition after they beat the Griffons 32-16 in their tournament opener a week earlier.
They will thus be targeting a bounce back win over Province this weekend to get their campaign back on track, but face a tough in-form team who are hoping to continue their strong start to the season.
“The Sharks have a good team, and got a good result in their first game. They lost last week, but they will be dangerous and will want to bounce back. Our first three games are away, and we have won the first two,” said Province captain Juan de Jongh.
“They are missing URC players, but we will focus on ourselves and keep working on our combinations. Hopefully the weather conditions are good to play some running rugby.”
