Luke Watson, the Western Province captain, made his farewell to the Western Province as his departure for Bath is imminent and he did it with great praise for the Union, the managing director, the coaches, the management, the players and the Newlands faithful.

Above all he praised his players, following their heart-breaking 19-21 loss to the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup semifinal at Newlands at the weekend.

Asked if he was disappointed, he said immediately: "Not at all. The blokes showed so much guts and character. I could not have asked for more.

"We were playing against a team that had won the Super 14 by sixty points, beaten the British and Irish Lions and won the Tri-Nations. They had many Springboks while we had one bench Springbok and one Springbok on the bench. The rest of us were no-name brands, a group of scallywags running about the field."

Asked if he did not consider himself a Springbok, Watson said: "No, I don't."

Asked who had stood out, he said: "It's a team game. We don't give individual in the team more praise - and we don't slate any individual."

Asked about his imminent departure, he said he was due to report on the first week of November."

Asked if he would be back, he said: "I don't know what the future will bring. Let's see what God has in store for me. It'll be exciting.

"If I did come back this would be the only place I'd come to."

Watson then appealed to the press to support the Western Province team.

"There is something special happening in this province and they need your support. The players read the criticism more than you think and it would help if they had the same support that they get in other provinces."