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EP coach heartened by his team’s display By Stan TerblancheEASTERN Province put up a spirited performance before going down 46-41 to Free State in their friendly rugby match in Burgersdorp on Saturday. It was a match that could have gone either way, but Free State made better use of their chances in gaining a hard-earned victory. It was the Free Staters’ third friendly of the season and they maintained their unbeaten record. Despite defeat, EP coach Allister Coetzee was heartened by his side’s performance. “The team showed enough for us to go into the Vodacom competition with much-needed confidence. “The Free Staters also paid us the compliment of choosing such top players as Springboks Johan Erasmus and Os du Randt, as well as prop Marius Mostert, flyhalf Conrad Barnard, wing McNeil Hendriks and loose forwards Nico Breedt and Gerrie Britz,’’ Coetzee said. EP managed tries by Brett Hennessey, Spencer Wakeling, Sheldon Coetzee, Rory Duncan and Monwabisi Mdyesha. Free State replied with six tries. Coetzee was impressed with the play of Wakeling, locks Henno Venter and Rory Duncan, as well as the loose trio of Joe Pringle, Sebastian Hillpert and J J Pienaar. “The loose trio came up against experienced opponents, but they more than held their own and this augurs well for the future,” Coetzee said. However, Coetzee was quick to add that there was still much work to be done before EP take on WP in their opening Vodacom match in Uitenhage on Friday, March 21. “We have the talent to do well in the Vodacom series if the players apply themselves to the task at hand,’’ Coetzee added.
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