- WP coach John Dobson says he was worried their game against the Pumas would be called off due to a Covid-19 scare.
- The Capetonians were unable to call on three tigthhead props which forced Dobson to pick rookie Lee-Marvin Mazibuko.
- Mazibuko, who hadn't played rugby since before the Covid-19 lockdown, had to pack down for the full 80 minutes.
Western Province coach John Dobson says he was worried Friday's Currie Cup clash against the Pumas would be cancelled because of a Covid-19 scare in the camp.
The Capetonians had a crisis at tighthead prop, with Springbok Frans Malherbe forced to pull out shortly before kick-off.
The other tightheads - Leon Lyons, Sazi Sandi and Neethling Fouche - were also not available which forced Dobson to call in rookie Lee-Marvin Mazibuko.
Mazibuko had not played rugby since before the Covid-19 lockdown in March but produced a gutsy 80-minute effort as WP claimed a 28-14 bonus-point win.
Dobson told reporters afterwards that he was proud of the character his players displayed.
"There was an hour or two this afternoon where I wasn't even sure this game would take place. I didn't tell the players... Lee-Marvin hasn't played 80 minutes for years I think, he hasn't played a game since before Covid, so that (his performance) was just exceptional.
"It was a really tough week for us... we had some Covid issues... we had Frans Malherbe pulling out an hour or two before the game. The other three tightheads - Leon Lyons, Sazi Sandi and Neethling Fouche - were all out so to get an uncontracted tighthead come in and play 80 minutes like that... I think under the circumstances we did reasonably well. We didn't play well but I think we showed a lot of character which I'm proud of," Dobson said.
The WP mentor would not reveal which players had contracted Covid-19 but acknowledged he was concerned that the game could be called off.
"I'm uncomfortable saying who's got and who hasn't [got Covid). We had some staff issues in the week. Frans isn't, he's just I'll. But there are other players who could have played there who are either positive or isolating. There are a couple of tighthead props who are in that position, but I feel like I'm breaking some confidentiality if I say some guy is isolating or he's positive... They're all in Covid isolation those props. Frans at this stage isn't but they're going to be retesting him. He had a high temperature," the coach continued.
Dobson said their only option was to throw Mazibuko in at the deep end.
"You can't go and call a club tighthead because they're not Covid cleared or haven't played. So if Frans is out and hour or two before the game, the guy who comes in has to be Covid tested and cleared to come in and play.
"And we already had three tightheads out. Lee-Marvin was the only option, there was just not a single other tighthead. If you looked at our bench, Kwenzo Blose and Ali Vermaak are both looseheads. If Lee-Marvin had gone down in the fifth minute I don't know what would have happened.
"But we were just really keen to play, so for Lee-Marvin to come in and guts it out like that was extraordinary. I thought he did really, really well."
As a result, the scrums were a bit of a mixed bag where both teams were penalised by referee Paul Mente.
WP captain Siya Kolisi, however, said he felt they had the dominant scrum.
"It felt like we got the hit and we were going forward. We could feel dominance but the ref said he didn't see any clear dominance from us. I felt their loosehead (Morgan Naude) kept on opening his hips and from our side we felt we were going forward but he (the referee) said there was no clear dominance. I felt their loosehead's angle was bad."
The hosts also lost flyhalf Tim Swiel to concussion in the first five minutes, which forced another rookie, Kade Wolhuter, to step in and they also lost wing Tristan Leyds and flank Ernst van Rhyn to concussion during the match.
Kolisi continued: "We showed a lot of character but we made a lot of mistakes. We didn't play well at all. We're not happy with the game, generally. But we're happy with the win, we know we've got a lot to work on but we're glad as a team we were able to pull through.
"And we went for the bonus point. Even though the game was tough and we were losing the ball and our discipline was bad, we still believed we would get a bonus point."
WP have a bye this week, with their next encounter scheduled against Griquas at Newlands on December 26.