Leah Jones aware of target on Western Province Women backs

She says they cannot afford to be complacent as many of their competitors will come up with new strategies to beat them, and they themselves will have to stay ahead of the pack.

Western Province will get their season underway with a Hollywoodbets Pro50 home clash against Garden Route Badgers Women on Saturday October 3.

"It's going to be a tough one because we have a target on our back. We don't blame them for gunning for us, but we simply have to start from the beginning again because a lot of the other teams will come with new approaches. We just have to adopt a fresh new mindset to retain our titles."

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Jones made it clear that they have no intentions of relinquishing their titles from last season, but did admit that it won’t be easy to do it again.

The 24-year-old also says there was nothing easy on their way to winning the trophies, having had to dig deep to even get to the finals. 

They overcame the Lions Women in both deciders played at Kingsmead stadium in Durban in March this year.

Jones also echoed the sentiments of coach Claire Terblanche about their healthy working relationship, which she says creates a happier environment for the players.

"It's very important for a coach and a captain to work well together especially if you want a team to thrive. If you have a good relationship, the rest of the players will see that and want to play for them."