The Chiefs faced the Southern Kings in a Round 5 match at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Friday night.
The match did how ever not start off as the Kings would have liked. Not only were the Kings defending their line as the whistle blew for the start of the game, but they also lost their captain Darron Nell minutes before the start of the game, with Andries Strauss also struggling with an injury niggle it was up to Steven Sykes to lead the Kings on the field.
The Kings were forced to defend their line for the first 9 minutes after kick off before Gareth Anschombe kicked a penalty to bring the score to 3 - 0. The Chiefs and Kings exchanged a few more penalties and 13 minutes into the game the score was 6 - 3 to the Chiefs.
The Chiefs made good use of the ball playing the width of the field from every ruck. Lelia Masaga was on the receiving end of a pass and went over for his first try of the game, 13 - 3 to the Chiefs. Kings came close to scoring one of their own through Argentinian replacement Thomas Leonardi, but lost the ball close to the line, a Demetri Catrakilis penalty brought the score to 13 - 6.
With the Chiefs attacking and some brilliant interplay between Aaron Cruden and Nanai Williams to gave Masaga his second to bring the score to 18 - 6 with 20 minutes to go before the half time break.
Chiefs were strong on attack just before halftime and looked in a good position to score another try, but poor handling from the Chiefs allowed Sergeal Peterson to snatch a loose ball in his 22 and the only thing he saw was the try line. Catrakilis converted and the Chiefs went into half time with a 5 point lead, 13 - 18.
The Kings lost some concentration for the next 15 minutes after half time and the Chiefs managed to score two more tries, Same Cane scored the first one and Masaga scoring his 3rd, 32 - 13 after 53 minutes.
The Kings knew they had to play in the Chiefs 22 and made most of their opportunities when they got down their, kicking for touch at every penalty and putting the pressure on the Chiefs. After yet another kick to the line Jacques Engelbrecht was rewarded for his hard work in the last two games and went over for the Kings 2nd try, 18 - 32 to the Chiefs.
Catrakilis kicked another two penalties for the Kings to bring the score to 24 - 32 with 9 minutes to go and a losing bonus point looked like a fitting reward for another gutsy effort against the defending champions.
Anscombe spoiled the Kings party when he kicked a final penalty to secure the game and stretching their lead to 11 points. Final score Southern Kings 24 Chiefs 35.
It was great to see the people of Port Elizabeth coming out and supporting their team before they leave for their over seas tour. Kings can take some positives out the game as they defended well at times, but also the fact that they kept their ball well on attack and taking points at every opportunity.
Kings are still lacking the experience to compete against seasoned teams, but they fighting for survival in every match and their confidence are growing, one can only hope the coming tour will knit them closer as a team and not break their fighting spirits and maybe get a bonus point or two.
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