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Falcons to take flight on fight for points

Tuesday 03rd July 2007

Falcons coach Rudi Joubert knows his team desperately needs log points and will not be taking the Boland Cavaliers lightly when the two sides go head-to-head in a Currie Cup 'clash of the minnows' in Brakpan on Friday night.

The Falcons have no points on the competition standings to show for their two games played so far and need to win against the Cavaliers - as they try to move clear of the relegation zone.

Boland recovered from a 91-3 crushing by the Free State Cheetahs in the opening week to record a hard-earned and gutsy 15-10 victory over a stronger Western Province outfit at the weekend.

That was a win that suggested they may not be the cannon fodder everybody thought they would be.

"We know it [the encounter with Boland] is a game we can win, but we could end up being in serious trouble if we don't take them seriously," Joubert told this website.

The Falcons are already in a spot of trouble if their injury list is anything to go by - as the team will be without star wing Dean Okkers, fellow wing Mark Harris, number eight Sean Plaatjies and flank Callie Wannenburg.

"I don't know when Dean will be back, but Sean will be with us in about a week," said Joubert.

"Mark pulled a calf muscle during the warm-up [in the dressing room] and will be out for a week, and Callie Wannenburg hurt his neck and groin, and it looks like he is going to be out for a while."

The Falcons coach also made it clear that he was not impressed with his team's handling skills against the Cheetahs.

"We need to rectify the problem and sort out our handling mistakes," said the coach.

"We practically gave them tries from our own mistakes. Three of our passes should have gone to Falcons hands, but didn't and ended up being tries [to the opposition]."

Joubert did admit that he was looking at a couple of things that his team could target in the Cavaliers' game.

"There are a couple of things we know we can target, just looking at the Boland game [against WP]," he said.

Falcons - likely: 15 Riaan Viljoen, 14 Willem Slabbert, 13 Bertus Swanepoel, 12 Hanno Coetzee, 11 Mpho Matsaung, 10 Len Olivier, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Michael Vermaak, 7 Jacques Nieuwenhuis, 6 Piet Krause (c), 5 Nico Luus, 4 Dewald Senekal, 3 Philip Lemmer, 2 David Britz, 1 Gunder Williamson.
Replacements: 16 Gavin Whittingham, 17 Ryno Barnes, 18 Hein Potgieter, 19 Westley Kew, 20 Morn� Adams, 21 Jacques Schutte, 22 A N Other

By Gareth Green