Cape Town – Western Province expects an uphill battle with Griquas on Saturday evening (kick-off 7.15pm) but have vowed not to stray from an exciting, running game in the DHL Stadium.
They have a European Champions Cup match between the Stormers and Harlequins as a curtain-raiser and that should be motivation enough for Province to continue with their brand of running rugby.
Griquas also possess some pacey backs and with their destructive pack of forwards they can make Saturday a long evening for the home side.
With the Stormers still competing in Europe, John Dobson, WP and Stormers coach, acknowledged they might struggle in the next couple of Currie Cup matches.
Some players will be on Stormers duty, while a handful of WP backline players are also out injured for a long period.
Dobson is happy with the pack that they will put into the field, but a rather inexperienced backline will be fronting up to the Griquas side.
"We'll be better towards the back end of the competition," Dobson said about the Currie Cup side.
"I think we're at our darkest hour in terms of resources when it comes to the Currie Cup, especially in the backs. We have a whole backline out if you look at Stefan Ungerer, Godlen Masimla (both scrumhalf), I know Kade (Wolhuter) is there, but Cornel (Smit) and Zweli (Mnombo Zwelindaba) and Angelo Davids are out, and Sacha (Feinberg-Mngomezulu) got a knock last week. Tristan Leyds (utility back) is out as well.
"We've been really cleaned. The plan was to have a young Currie Cup backline, but they are all out injured. Last week was a poor performance in Durban.
"We lacked leadership in the backline and our kicking game was not good enough without the experience of a Jean-Luc du Plessis.
"This weekend will be very tough for the same reasons.
"Our depth is being tested, particularly in the backline, but we know that every player out there will give his all for the jersey and hopefully we can play some of the rugby that this team is known for," the coach added.
Dobson believes this will not have a lasting effect on their ambitions in the Currie Cup, with some of the injured players returning soon and Varsity Cup players becoming available as well.
On Saturday, WP will have to produce a performance out of their skin to halt their loss record against the Peacock Blues. In their last four meetings, the men from Kimberley came out on top.
They've already set their sights on a fifth straight victory over Province.
Lock Ruben van Heerden will make his WP debut alongside scrumhalf Imad Khan and winger Tom Nel. Khan replaces the injured Masimla, while Nel is in for Duncan Saal who also picked up an injury.
Western Province: 15. Edward Coulson, 14. Tom Nel, 13. Juan de Jongh (captain), 12. Jean-Luc du Plessis, 11. Fazeel Robertson, 10. Kade Wolhuter, 9. Imad Khan, 8. Keke Morabe, 7. Junior Pokomela, 6. Paul de Villiers, 5. Ruben van Heerden, 4. Connor Evans, 3. Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 2. Andre-Hugo Venter, 1. Kwenzo Blose.
Replacements: 16. Scarra Ntubeni, 17. Ali Vermaak, 18. Leon Lyons, 19. Dylan de Leeuw, 20. Louwan Horn, 21. Labib Kennemeyer, 22. Bruce Sherwood, 23. Jacques Rousseau
IOL Sport