Flyhalf Willem de Waal proved in Western Province's 26-17 victory over the Blue Bulls at Newlands at the weekend why he will again have a major say in the destiny of the Currie Cup honours this season.

The new Western Province flyhalf De Waal kept his side's hopes alive with four penalties when it seemed the Blue Bulls, with six minutes playing time left and leading 17-12, were destined for victory.

But De Waal's contribution with his trusty boot fuelled WP's winning hopes right until the end, when they finally breached the stubborn Blue defence, twice in quick succession.

After the match WP coach Allister Coetzee paid tribute to De Waal, whose record shows that in four seasons with the Free State Cheetahs he scored 811 points. Of the present crop of active players, De Waal is far and away the leading Currie Cup points scorer with a career total of 1090 points. Prior to playing for the Cheetahs, De Waal played two seasons for the Leopards.

"Willem [De Waal] has proved his worth again as a match-winner," said Coetzee. "He's won Currie Cups for the Cheetahs with his boot alone.

"He'll be a very valuable player for us, especially when the Cape weather results in wet conditions."

It was obvious on Saturday that Coetzee wants to revive traditional Province rugby by playing with flair and there were signs that De Waal could become part of that culture.

"It's a new playing system for Willem but he needs time to settle down," Coetzee explained. "He's capable of taking charge and once we improve our communication we'll make less mistakes."

The mistakes Coetzee was referring to resulted in two soft tries which the Blue Bulls scored on Saturday.

In each of the past two seasons De Waal scored over 200 points for the Cheetahs and after Saturday's clash, when he scored 16 points, his total stands at 20 after two matches against the leading SA sides.

WP will host De Waal's former side, the Cheetahs, at Newlands this coming Saturday.

With this kind of form De Waal is likely to keep out WP's second-choice flyhalf Isma-eel Dollie, who recently was a member of Peter de Villiers' Springbok training squad.

It is unlikely that WP will withdraw De Waal from the action in a tight match because of his undoubted match-winning potential.

365