Coleman gets Dobson’s backing

Western Province coach John Dobson is backing flyhalf Kurt Coleman to do the business against the Sharks this weekend.

Western Province coach John Dobson is backing flyhalf Kurt Coleman to do the business against the Sharks this weekend.

Dobson realises the need to give the Knysna-born pivot a fair and extended run in the No 10 jersey following a year in which he has found himself in and out of the Stormers side, and, as a result, has lost a lot of confidence along the way.

Coleman had a satisfactory outing in his first WP start of the season in their bonus-point victory over Griquas at Newlands on Saturday.

Coleman’s all-round game has never been the issue, but his goal-kicking has let him down in a few matches in Super Rugby earlier this year. And it looked like those demons came back to haunt him when he missed a relatively easy penalty in the first quarter with his first attempt of the match.

But Coleman responded really well after that and slotted his goals from every angle.

His touch finders still lack a bit of distance, but that will come with more confidence, as it seems like he is just trying to kick the ball out and not make the mistake of kicking it straight down the throats of the opposition from a penalty or from a clearance kick inside his 22.

Coleman is fighting for the No 10 jersey with talented youngster Robert du Preez, who also needs some gametime in the Currie Cup to get used to senior rugby ahead of next year’s Super Rugby campaign. Utility back, Dillyn Leyds, is also a flyhalf option WP are exploring.

So it seems Demetri Catrakilis may not feature again this season in the blue-and-white hoops before he packs his bags for France at the end of this year’s Currie Cup.

“The thing about Kurt is that he has been in and out for a long time. It will be tough to leave him out, because when Kurt is on song he is magic,” Dobson said yesterday.

“We are looking at Dillyn as a No 10. Whether he is the back-up No 10 this week or in a week’s time, we are not quite sure yet.

“I’m trying to build Kurt ... Kurt had some rhythm going and his goal-kicking, despite missing the first kick, was quite good on Saturday.

“Like I said last week, this Currie Cup is a balancing act. We wanted to get some momentum, and that’s why that win was so important.

“But we also owe people like Robert du Preez, Godlen Masimla and Huw Jones, and we need to use the Currie Cup to bring them through. If we can expose one or two guys every week and win, it would be great.”

Continuity at flyhalf, though, may be just what WP need going into this weekend’s game against the Durban side, especially if No 8 and captain Nizaam Carr misses the trip because of a hamstring strain.

Carr was replaced in the match against Griquas by Jurie van Vuuren, who himself recently recovered from injury.

Further inspection by the medical team suggests that Carr may be fine to play, but Dobson will only make a final call on Thursday. Sikhumbuzo Notshe, who missed Saturday’s game with a shoulder injury, is likely to come in at No 8 if the WP captain is ruled out of the match.

Other players like Oliver Kebble and Jano Vermaak are also fit to feature again.

“Our feeling is that we need a No 8 that can return the ball. The Sharks have got a massive kicking game, and we need somebody to handle that. Notshe would be a like-for-like replacement if Nemo is not available,” Dobson said.

“But we are much more confident about Nemo than after the game.”

Carr added: “It feels good, it’s a massive improvement since Saturday. I wasn’t too comfortable after the game, but I was icing it and I feel much better. It’s not torn, it’s just a strain.”

While Carr’s hamstring is a concern, Dobson’s other headache after the match against Griquas was the amount of scrum penalties they conceded.

WP have dominated every pack they have scrummed against, but, while it looked like they were again going forward on Saturday, they were blown up several times by referee Jaco van Heerden.

“I wouldn’t say that I’m worried about the performance of our scrum or our strength or our commitment, I was worried about the fact that we were penalised so much,” Dobson said.

“It’s something we are asking for clarity on, because I felt we had a dominant scrum. The instructions then went down to ease off in the scrums, because if we attack the scrum we were risking a penalty.

“We won three-times more scrum penalties than the opposition at scrum time this year, but on Saturday that stat was reversed. So it’s something we need to look at.” - Cape Times