Cape Town — His team knew before kick-off nothing was on the line but to produce a performance like that against the Sharks was an enormously special way to end their Currie Cup campaign and season for coach John Dobson.
Province put on a masterclass on a muddy DHL Stadium pitch to thrash the Sharks 44-5, finishing the rugby season in style as they scored six tries and fought right till the end to keep the visitors scoreless but just failing to do so.
Despite not making the Currie Cup play-offs, after being pipped for fourth place by one point by the Blue Bulls, Dobson is happy with the strides his side made in a campaign that produced plenty of highlights under trying circumstances.
They mostly played without their stars, who featured for the Stormers in the United Rugby Championship (URC) and Heineken Champions Cup.
"In this Currie Cup campaign, we had some really good performances with a couple of defeats," Dobson said after his team's final match.
"Those two Bulls games (WP beat a full-strength Bulls on two occasions) and today (the mauling of the Sharks) are special. We said at the start we wanted to scrape into the semi-finals knowing what our other demands were (with the Stormers).
"You know, we played five big European knockout games - the three URC ones, the two in the Heineken Cup. I don't think anyone else did. The Sharks did three, the Bulls two
"It probably took a toll on our Currie Cup campaign, yet we were just one point off in the end. We were not going to make it, but to finish on this note was absolutely superb. I can't be more proud of where we are as a group and of Neethas (Neethling Fouche, the captain) and the team."
Fouche said they still wanted to put in a performance and it didn't matter what happened in the Bulls-Cheetahs match.
WP set out to make Cape Town smile and they did so with the six tries they scored. They had the crowd on their feet throughout the match.
"The jersey at the end of the day, is bigger than you (as a player). And it's not a situation of I'm just going to get through this game and go on a lekker vacation.
"You have an order to go out and represent the jersey, and I'm proud of how the guys did it."
IOL Sport