- WP flyhalf Tim Swiel says they are eager to produce an 80-minute performance against the Pumas.
- Swiel was named man-of-the-match in their loss to the Lions but says it "feels like nothing when you lose".
- Despite back-to-back losses, Swiel says the vibe in the WP squad remains positive.
Western Province flyhalf Tim Swiel says they are desperate to produce an 80-minute performance when they host the Pumas in a Currie Cup clash at Newlands on Friday.
The Capetonians are reeling after back-to-back defeats to the Bulls (22-20, Newlands) and Lions (19-9) and know that another mishap could prove fatal.
In both of their last two games, WP appeared to be heading for victory before fading out at the end. They led 20-15 against a 14-man Bulls outfit but couldn't close the game out in the dying stages, while against the Lions they surrendered 19-9 advantage heading into the final 10 minutes.
Swiel was named man-of-the-match against the Lions but told reporters on Monday the accolade "feels like nothing when you lose".
"The last two weeks haven't been good in terms of results... in terms of stats we dominated in some areas... but we haven't really put together an 80-minute performance. We have another opportunity this weekend," Swiel said during an online media briefing.
Despite the recent defeats, the WP pivot noted the vibe in the squad was still good.
"We could be negative after the last two games, but we've actually come out today training with quite a positive mind frame."
They will be wary of the Pumas, having escaped with a 42-37 win at Mbombela Stadium during the Super Rugby Unlocked event in October.
In that game, the men from the Cape overcame a 37-14 deficit to score a late win.
That was in contrast to the past two weeks where they faded towards the end, with Swiel saying they're hunting a more complete performance.
"If you look at that first Pumas game, it was the complete opposite. So, we have it in us to be better towards the end. We've been really preparing well, as a group we haven't trained as well as we have in the last month, so transferring that into matchday is what we're searching for the most. We haven't really clicked in that sense, other than the Griquas game (a 39-6 win in Kimberley) where we started off well and got good momentum.
"But it's not going to happen overnight... even if we had won these last two games, it's not been the prettiest kind of rugby. We're also not just trying to chase results, we want to play a good style of rugby and we haven't really had that over the last few weeks."
Looking ahead to the Pumas clash, Swiel said he was wary of his direct opponent Devon Williams, who recently moved to flyhalf but performed adequately in their 22-17 win over Griquas last weekend.
"Devon was a wing when I was playing with him at Western Province under-21. I know him very well, he's electric and he's got a really good left boot. Those two attributes - running and kicking - are what you need for rugby and he has that.
"Obviously he hasn't played that much at No 10, it does take a bit of time to adjust there, but I'm happy for him, he played well in their last game.
"But we're focusing on ourselves. We want to bounce back from the loss against the Lions and show a bit of character. We need to start well against a team like the Pumas because if they start well and get their heads up, they're hard to stop.
"We just need to control things better and obviously show a bit of composure at the end of the game which will hopefully get us through the line," Swiel concluded.
The WP team will be named on Wednesday, with Friday's clash at Newlands scheduled for 19:00.