Seeing his side lose another close game reminded Sanlam Boland Cavaliers head coach Hawies Fourie of a well-known saying in professional sport that legendary American Football coach Vince Lombardi once said: ‘Winning is a habit, but so too is losing.’
With these words in mind, Fourie was quick to remind his players that settling or being content with narrow margins is not why he or they signed on to a Boland Cavaliers project with very high ambitions.
Fourie’s team was about 10 minutes away from a famous win against the Airlink Pumas in last Friday’s SA Cup semi-final game in Nelspruit.
After the Pumas went down to 12 men, thanks to the constant pressure the Cavas applied, Fourie’s team took full advantage, scoring three tries to take a 29-25 lead after being down 25-10 shortly after halftime.
But two late penalty goals by Pumas flyhalf Danrich Visagie saw the home side regain the lead and end Boland’s SA Cup run.
“We are disappointed that we lost this one,” says Fourie. “I think if we go back and look at the game, we will probably be able to pinpoint 10 plus opportunities, where we made mistakes with momentum on our side. Ball-in-hand, line-breaks in the 22 metres of the opponent and then just not being able to convert.
“It was close, and it is not nice to lose in such a way, because we wanted to win this game to get to the final, but it was not our day.
Although Fourie agrees that missing out on the SA Cup final with a close and fighting performance does build his team’s character ahead of their return to the Currie Cup Premier Division, he is wary of the fact that complacency could set in because of falling short against ‘quality teams’.
“I must add that I did see a lot of growth throughout this competition and really played well against the stronger teams, and losing by just two points against the Pumas on two occasions,” he explains. “We lost by six points to the Griquas in Kimberley while we managed to beat the Cheetahs [in the opening round]. Against the Griffons in Welkom, we fell short by three points. That tells me we are getting closer to where we want to be as a team but we are not there yet.
“There is a lot of work that still lies in wait in the six weeks we have to prepare for the Currie Cup Premier Division that starts on 26 July. I am looking forward to it, and we have proved to ourselves we can play on that level. The Pumas (and Griquas) have been playing on that level for quite a few years now. The Pumas winning it in the final against Griquas in 2022 and then again playing in the final in 2023. They are a very good team, and in Nelspruit, not many visiting teams come and beat them here.
“That we got so close to winning the game, tells me a lot about our character and where we are as a team but the fact that we did not win also tells me that there is still plenty to work on and give ourselves a good chance to beat there type of teams.”
Fourie adds that he reminded his players not to let losing become a habit: “I told the players afterwards that this is not a performance that we should be grateful for because then it becomes a habit to accept losing by close margins and be okay with it.
“We are a team that has set high standards for ourselves and demand it of ourselves, and I believe all these close losses will make us stronger. And even more desperate to go and prove that we can play on a higher level.”
The Cavas boss also takes heart from the fact that he did not have all his players available as first-choice players like Duren Hoffman, Keenan Opperman, Marlyn Williams and Garth April got injured during the SA Cup campaign.
“The one advantage of it is that we have reached our goal of Currie Cup promotion without six of our first-choice players who either missed the entire SA Cup campaign or got injured after our first three games,” Fourie explains.
“Some of them will be back for the Currie Cup campaign, and I know it will make us a stronger team and squad. We will work hard and have big ambitions, and we desperately want to show that we did not just qualify for the Premier Division to take part as also-rans, but as a team that wants to win and perform well.
“I want to thank the Boland faithful for all the support we have received during our campaign and want to let them know from everyone that it is highly appreciated.”
The Cavas will now take a two-week break before returning to the training field on June 8 to start preparing for their anticipated return to the top tier of Currie Cup rugby.