Mangweni seals the win for Kings

A late try by EP Kings centre and captain Siyabonga Mangweni gave the Kings a 30 - 23 win over the Valke at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth last night.  Poor discipline and set pieces cost the Kings from scoring a four try bonus point, as they failed on numerous occasions to secure attacking line out ball close to the try line.

Two first have tries by flanker Stefan Willemse and the accurate boot of Scott van Breda gave the Kings an early 14 - 3 lead, but after a Steven Sykes yellow card 10 minutes to half time allowed the Valke to score 17 points. The Kings had an opportunity to take the lead just before half time but George Whitehead was unable to hold onto the ball as he stretched for the line. The Valke went into the break leading 20 - 17.

The Kings and Valke exchanged early penalties after the break, with the Kings having more opportunities but were unable to convert them into points. The Kings had a poor night with their line outs, with numerous try scoring opportunities gone begging. Kings no8, Tim Agaba, was one of the stand out players for the Kings with storming runs down the mid field and getting close to scoring on occasions. It was eventually left to the captain to score the winning try, as Mangweni sliced through the Valke backline to dot down a five pointer under the post, van Breda converted and the Kings took a 27 - 23 lead. Van Breda kicked a final penalty to bring the full time score to 30 - 23.

The win against the Valke stretched the gap between the Kings and 3rd place Leopards by 7 points, after the Leopards lost earlier against the Border Bulldogs at home. Tomorrow sees the Pumas taking on Boland and Griffons playing SWD at home.

Scorers:

EP Kings - Tries: Stefan Willemse (2), Tiger Mangweni; Conversions: Scott van Breda (3); Penalties: Scott van Breda (3)

Valke - Tries: Sandile Ngcobo, Jaco Oosthuizen; Conversions: Kyle Hendricks (2); Penalties: Kyle Hendricks (3)