WP more worried about Currie Cup fate than dodgy pitch in key coastal derby against Sharks

The pitchy business at the Cape Town Stadium will be a talking point one more time on Saturday in the 2022/23 rugby season when Western Province host the Sharks in their final round-robin Currie Cup game.

The hosts, who are on 32 log points and on the brink of Currie Cup elimination, especially with Griquas (35) and the Bulls (36) ahead of them and playing before them at home against the Pumas and the Cheetahs, respectively, won't be back at their Greenpoint haunt after this weekend.

The 2010 World Cup venue's playing surface has come in for stinging criticism for how it has shaped up in the past two seasons.

In the United Rugby Championship, the Stormers found a way of co-existing with the suspect surface, but in the final against Munster at the end of last month, Stormers coach John Dobson admitted that the pitch influenced the result somewhat, even though he acknowledged Munster were the better team on the day.

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After Wednesday's rain the pitch may not be much better, but Stormers assistant coach Labeeb Levy was accepting of what may come their way at the Cape Town Stadium.

"We didn't train there last week, so I don't know the exact state of it, but it would have had an extra week's rest," Levy said.

"Also, prior to the URC final, there was also the Monster Jam, and it was also a rainy week in the build-up to one of the playoff games.

"We'll most probably have a captain's run, which will be very light, but we think the field should be in a better state than it was for the final.

"However, Cape Town's weather is winter, so we may see a few droplets coming down in the next few days, which may have an effect on the pitch.

"Anyway, both teams will