Western Province coach Allister Coetzee took precautionary measures on Monday, giving his Lion tamers a break from training in order to manage his Currie Cup squad.

It appears that Province paid a heavy price for snapping the Lions' unbeaten Currie Cup run at Newlands on Friday night, given their list of injuries after the match.

Captain Deon Fourie fractured his nose and will be out of action for two weeks. Loose forward Pieter Louw picked up severe bruises in his rib cage and it is likely that he will miss out on Friday's match against the Pumas in Witbank.

"There were just far too many niggles in the side after the Lions match and it's not surprising because we've played the Bulls, the Cheetahs and the Sharks on the trot," said Coetzee.

"So that's a tough sequence of matches and it's our way of managing the squad.

"It was important that the players had a break, and I'm sure they'll be strong for training on Tuesday," he added.

Coetzee said he was pleased with his team's defence at the weekend, but was disappointed that they gave away two soft tries.

"Our scrums were good and the same could be said about our work rate and attitude," he said.

"It was pleasing to see the commitment and it was never a case of taking any thing for granted. We looked good with ball in hand, and we were effective at breakdown.

"This team hasn't played to its full potential yet."

Coetzee said this Friday's match would test his squad's mental strength, and he assured there would be no complacency.

"When you look at the results there (in Witbank) you'll notice how many close games have been played there," he said.

"Province won't make the mistake of just pitching up for this game."

Coetzee paid tribute to the contributions of returning Springboks Gio Aplon and Juan de Jongh in his team's match-winning performance.

"Aplon and De Jongh had a big impact on our performance and they showed their worth as Springboks. They showed that they want to perform well in the Western Province jersey," said Coetzee.

SAPA