The Waratahs took full advantage of a tired Southern Kings team when they played their round 12 match at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium this past Saturday. The Waratahs out played the Kings in every area of the game and scored 11 tries in the process.
The Kings have struggled to get their momentum back after a very successful first tour abroad, which included a draw against the Brumbies and a win over the Rebels. Their first game back at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium was a sell out against the Bulls but the Kings failed to score a single point with the final score, 34 - 0. The following weekend they had a tough match against the Cheetahs in Bloem. The Kings defense were much better and they prevented the Cheetahs from scoring four tries, coming within 14 points. Final score after the 80 minutes, 26 - 12.
A positive note for the Kings was that Sergeal Petersen would make his return against the Waratahs after missing the two matches against the Bulls and the Cheetahs. He unfortunately offered nothing on defense, out of 6 attempts 2 were ineffective and 4 missed, but he did however gain 100m with ball in hand with 2 line breaks and scored the only try for his team. Petersen who were included in the SA u20 squad suffered a grade two tear to his right hamstring during the match and is expected to be out for three to four weeks.
Jacques Engelbrecht who's been a real warrior for the Kings since taking over from Luke Watson had to leave the field after a bad sprain to his ankle in the 49th minute. The x-rays to his right ankle came back clear, but Engelbrecht will need to rest the ankle and will not be available for their next match against the Highlanders.
One positive from the game could be that Luke Watson is looking more like the player he was before a throat injury kept him out for the first part of the season. From his 12 carries he gained 92 meters, 1 line break and 3 off loads. He missed 3 from 10 tackles and added his weight to 7 ruck and mauls. With the unfortunate injury to Engelbrecht it could allow Watson to make that no 8 jersey his own again when they face the Highlanders in Port Elizabeth this coming weekend.
The challenge for the Kings will be to pick themselves up from this and dig deep for that character and defense that was so evident against teams like the Force, Sharks, Brumbies and Rebels.
"Failure is not getting knocked down. It is about not getting up". Allan Solomons
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