‘WP halfbacks must respect ball’

Coach John Dobson blames a lack of respect for the rugby ball in wet conditions for his Western Province team’s 30-25 loss to the Bulls in Sunday’s Currie Cup game at Cape Town Stadium.

Province managed to bag two losing bonus points with a late fourth try for the loss by fewer than seven points to sit third in Pool A behind the first-placed Cheetahs and the Bulls (second) with the Griffons fourth.

Dobson was pleased by his manne’s fightback from 30-13 down, but says: “I thought it was a really poor first half and overall a very disappointing performance by us.

“I accept the conditions because both teams played in those conditions, but there were elements to that first-half performance that I thought were disappointing. In those conditions, you need to stamp yourself on the game. [Your] nine and 10 need to work [together] and need to respect the ball…”

Province get a chance to fix their foute when they face the Cheetahs on Saturday, 1.30pm in Bloemfontein.