A matter of pride in Loftus Currie Cup clash: Dobson wary of stunned Bulls backlash

Western Province coach John Dobson says they are eager to make their loyal fans proud when they duel against the Bulls in a Currie Cup clash in Pretoria on Friday night.

WP opened their Currie Cup campaign with an impressive 44-28 win over the Lions in Johannesburg last weekend, while the Bulls were thumped 63-15 at home by the Pumas.

After their embarrassing defeat to the defending champions, the Bulls loaded their team with URC players while WP opted for a largely second-string outfit.

READ | Feisty Jake downplays Bulls slump: 'Can't be a crisis if you're alive in all competitions'

After naming his team, Dobson took heart from the Stormers' recent success at Loftus Versfeld when they upset the Bulls 23-19 in a URC clash on 18 February.

"We see this as our biggest rivalry ... we could see that a couple of weeks ago up there at Loftus with the Stormers, all those striped jerseys in the stands. Us and the Bulls have done a great job over the last while stoking that [rivalry]," Dobson told reporters after naming his WP team on Thursday.

"There's just something about that light blue jersey versus the blue-and-white stripes that's just a beautiful sight." 

Dobson said he took note of the Pumas' heroics at Loftus and expected the Bulls to field a strong team this weekend.

"We'll have our challenges tomorrow, and no doubt the Bulls will be putting out a strong side, a more URC-based team. We're not going that route, but there's a lot of pride in this group, and we're going to fight tomorrow night."

"I dream, and fear, weekends as a coach of what happened last Sunday. As well as the Pumas played, it was extraordinary. Everything just stuck for them. We were a bit lucky to win away there last time with our URC team, so [we] can't be