Cape Town — They are not in a good position on the Currie Cup log at the moment and that's why a desperate Western Province side will rock up for the North-South clash with the Blue Bulls on Saturday in Cape Town.
Both teams sit just outside the top four in South Africa's premier domestic competition, with the Bulls (17 points) in fifth and WP (16 points) in sixth, looking to break back into the play-off spots.
The winning team will most likely jump up the log, leapfrogging one of the Griquas (19 points) or the Sharks (19 points), who meet each other this weekend when the second round of the competition starts.
"Both the teams will be desperate for a win," WP defence coach Norman Laker said
"It will be important for us to put in a performance for 80 minutes. Over the last couple of weeks, we played well for about 50 to 60 minutes. We want to improve on that.
"The North-South derby remains an important one for any WP and Blue Bulls team. There are small things that we need to get better at than we were for the past two weekends against the Cheetahs and Pumas.
"We are not 100% in our execution and we can improve on that."
The WP coaches are still toying with the idea of giving some fringe players of the Stormers a run in the Currie Cup this weekend, but it's highly unlikely that star players like Evan Roos, who only recently recovered from an injury, and flyhalf Manie Libbok will be burdened with a match ahead of their United Rugby Championship (URC) quarter-final.
Someone like Leolin Zas, who is also making his way back to playing after a long-term injury, can benefit from some game time this weekend, but with Seabelo Senatla who has suffered a concussion, and Suleiman Hartzenberg out with a knee injury, it may be a bit risky to let Zas loose.
Laker feels they have enough depth to cover for the injured guys without having to dip into their URC stock.
"It is a good challenge at the moment for us coaches to get to both sides but I feel we are doing a good job at this stage to equip all the players with the tools.
"So when there is an injury at the URC team, then someone in the Currie Cup can slot in with ease. It was an important thing for us at the start of the season to get the players connected.
"The players know where we stand with them currently and what is expected of them."
IOL Sport