Brok Harris optimistic about Western Province's growth despite tough Currie Cup start

Western Province forwards coach Brok Harris is confident that their young and inexperienced team will continue to improve after two heavy defeats to start their Currie Cup campaign.

The Province team is a melting pot of many different players, with some coming in from the club structures, familiar faces from the Springbok Sevens team, and a few of the Stormers’ fringe players. Soon, you can also add some Junior Springboks to that list.

But Province haven’t made a great start to the campaign and are already on the back foot in the competition. After defeats against the Bulls and the Lions, and with only one round of fixtures completed, they already look like they might finish outside the semi-final spots.

Harris told the media on Tuesday that time constraints before the campaign kicked off didn’t allow them enough opportunities to work with the team and build cohesion. The players are essentially getting to know each other on the field.

WP are currently without their big-name Stormers players, who are enjoying their mandatory break after a gruelling United Rugby Championship campaign, while others are with the Springboks.

So, the Cape side had to dig quite deep to put a team together.

“Obviously, time is always an issue in rugby, and we only had a certain amount of time to prepare, as guys needed to rest during the MyPlayers rest periods,” said Harris.

“Cohesion takes time, unfortunately. It’s something we didn’t have. We’ve tried to simulate some matches for the guys during the week to help them get to know each other and bond — the Sevens and club players.

“But unfortunately, time wasn’t on our side, and it’s not going to come overnight. However, we are seeing improvement week to week, and that is the key thing for us.”

Harris says they have been loading a lot of detail onto the players to get them ready for the Currie Cup matches, including this coming weekend’s clash against Griquas.

And now those details will have to be shared with some of their Junior Boks, who Harris said could feature from this weekend following their triumphant U20 World Championship campaign.

“Getting the guys coming out of the club structures up to Currie Cup level is important. We are trying to do that by giving them a lot of detail. It’s also up to them to deal with all that information and streamline it to perform on a Saturday,” Harris added.

“In terms of general growth on their side, the last six weeks have been massive. But it’s still a work in progress, and we are taking it week by week.

“I think going from club rugby and the Junior World Cup to the Currie Cup … it’s a touch quicker. Your processing skills and what you are taught during the week must be executed more quickly.”