Preview: EP Kings v Lions

The Eastern Province Kings got a rude awakening of just how brutal the ABSA Currie Cup Competition can be when they travelled to Ellis Park to face the Xerox Lions in their first round match.

The Lions taught them a valuable lesson; respect is earned and you have to fight for every inch on the field as they outscored the Kings 9 tries to 3.

Ronnie Cooke managed to score the opening try for the Kings after just two minutes, but that was unfortunately the only say the Kings had for the next 38 minutes, as the Lions scored 4 tries in the first half.

Aidon Davis and Scott van Breda scored the Kings' second half tries, with van Breda and Gary van Aswegen adding one conversion each.

Both teams had to make some changes to their sides that played in the first game in Johannesburg.

Up front for the Kings, Egar Marutlulle and Tom Botha retain there spots at hooker and tight head with BG Uys replacing Lizo Gqoboka at loose head. Steven Sykes replaces Steven Cummins to finish off the tight five, and on the flank Paul Schoeman replaces Stefan Willemse.

Amongst the backs, Kevin Luiters replaces Tobie Botes who also forms a new combination with George Whitehead as he replaces Gary van Aswegen. 

Shane Gates will also have a new mid field partner this weekend as Ronnie Cooke replaces injured Tim Whitehead, this means Siyanda Grey will come in on the wing with Siviwe Soyizwapi. Scott van Breda will fill in at his regular position at the back.

The Kings have also made some changes to their bench with Mike van Vuuren replacing Albe De Swardt, Charles Marais replacing CJ  van der Linde. Shaun MacDonald and Stefan Willemse comes in to cover at lock and loose forward. Tobie Botes moves to the bench for the return match with Dwayne Jenner and Ntbeni Dukisa.

The Lions also had to make some late changes to their side that beat the Kings, 60 - 19, a fortnight ago.

The changes amongst the forwards are, Armand van der Merwe replaces Robbie Coetzee at hooker and Warwick Tecklenburg replaces Derick Minnie who moves to the bench. 

Changes amongst the backs see, Andries Coetzee moving from fullback where he played in the last match to flyhalf where he replaces Jaco van der Walt. Alwyn Hollenbach replaces Harold Vorster at inside center and Courtnall Skosan replacing Ruan Combrinck who moves to fullback in the only other change to the backline. 

Kick-off will be at 7pm.

EP Kings:

15 Scott van Breda 14 Siyanda Grey13 Ronnie Cooke12 Shane Gates 11 Siviwe Soyizwapi 10 George Whitehead 9 Kevin Luiters 8 Aidon Davis 7 Paul Schoeman 6 Thembelani Bholi 5 Steven Sykes 4 David Bulbring 3 Tom Botha 2 Edgar Marutlulle 1 BG Uys

Reserves:

16 Mike van Vuuren 17 Charles Marais 18 Shaun MacDonald 19 Stefan Willemse 20 Tobie Botes 21 Dwayne Jenner  22 Ntbeni Dukisa  

Xerox Lions:

15 Ruan Combrinck 14 Lionel Mapoe (c) 13 Stokkies Hanekom 12 Alwyn Hollenbach 11 Courtnall Skosan 10 Andries Coetzee 9  Ross Cronje 8  Willie Britz 7 Warwick Tecklenburg 6 Jaco Kriel 5 Franco Mostert 4 MB Lusaseni 3 Ruan Dreyer 2 Armand van der Merwe 1 Schalk van der Merwe

Reserves:

16 Willie Wepener 17 Jacques van Rooyen 18 Martin Muller 19 Derick Minnie 20 Albertus “Kwagga” Smith 21 Ricky Schroeder 22 Howard Mnisi

EP Kings to face the Lions

The Eastern Province Kings team that will take on the Xerox Golden Lions at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium this weekend has been announced.

Head Coach Carlos Spencer said they had not yet finalised who the captain would be, what with Luke Watson being out with a concussion, but said Aidon Davis would take up Watson’s spot at 8th man on Saturday.

Spencer said BG Uys came in for Lizo Gqoboka, who was being rested following a long three games.

“[Lizo’s] gone through quite a high workload in terms of pre season and the last few weeks and BG has been working hard and deserves this opportunity,” he said.

Spencer also announced that Gary van Aswegen would sit the game out as he had been battling with a groin injury for the last two or three weeks and it was important to manage him and allow him to recover.

Tim Whitehead, who had sustained a knock to the knee on Saturday, had made a huge improvement over the past few days and Spencer said they would make a call on his availability Wednesday morning.

“If he doesn’t come through Ronnie Cooke will move to Centre, with Siyanda Grey moving to wing, from the bench,” he said.

Spencer said he felt the players had come a long way since their game against the Lions at Ellis Park.

I definitely believe [we can turn it around] I thought we made huge strides on the weekend [against the Bulls] and thought we made a huge step up,” he said.

“We do realise it is going to be a challenge but the guys are looking forward to it. It’s just a matter of carrying what we did last week into this week and improving another 5 or 10%,” he said.

EP Kings:

1 BG Uys 2 Edgar Marutlulle 3 Tom Botha 4 David Bulbring 5 Steven Sykes 6 Thembelani Bholi 7 Paul Schoeman 8 Aidon Davis 9 Kevin Luiters 10 George Whitehead 11 Siviwe Soyizwapi 12 Shane Gates 13 Tim Whitehead/Ronnie Cooke 14 Ronnie Cooke/Siyanda 15 Grey Scott van Breda

Replacements:

16 Mike van Vuuren 17 Charles Marais 18 Shaun MacDonald 19 Stefan Willemse 20 Tobie Botes 21 Siyanda Grey/Dwayne Jenner 22 Ntbeni Dukisa

EP Kings u21 wins comfortably against Boland

The EP Kings u21s scored three second half tries as they outscored the Boland, 23 – 3, at the Uitenhage Central Grounds this past Friday night.

Kings fly-half Matthys Venter and Boland’s fullback Ryno Conradie exchanged first half penalties, as the teams went into the half time break 3 all.

After a slow first half, it was all Eastern Province in the second half, starting with a Venter penalty five minutes after half time, as he gave his team a 6 – 3 lead.

Kings flank, Siphe Punguzwa scored the Kings’ first try as the game reached the final quarter, Venter converted to stretch the Kings’ lead to 13 – 3.

With five minutes left Kings flyer, Sergeal Petersen scored his teams second try, Venter missed the conversion, but the game was pretty much out of reach for Boland as the Kings led 18 – 3 with only a few minutes of play left.

There was, however, still enough time left for Claude Tshidibi to score his teams third and final try, Venter was again unsuccessful with the conversion, but the Kings still won comfortably at the end, 23 – 3.

Failing to secure the bonus point, means the Kings are now equal on 14 points with SWD after 3 games.

The Kings’ next match will be against Limpopo BB, currently in 3rd place on 6 points from 2 games, at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.

Scorers

EP Kings u21 (23) – Tries: Siphe Punguzwa, Sergeal Petersen, Claude Tshidibi, Conversions: Matthys Venter (1), Penalties: Venter (2)

Boland u21 (3) – Penalty: Ryno Conradie

Kings u19s beat Free State

The Eastern Province Kings u19s played host to the Free State u19s in their return match at the Central Grounds in Uitenhage on Friday night.

The game was evenly matched, as both teams scored two tries, it was however a late penalty from the reliable boot of Kings full back Malcolm Jaer who secured a four point win for the home team.

Andre Swarts opened the scoring for the Free State, after he slotted a penalty kick with only two minutes gone on the clock.

Kings center, Jeremy Ward ran in the Kings’ first try towards the end of the first half, Jaer was on target as he added the extra two. Kings took a late 7 – 3 lead with ten minutes to half time.

Free State prop, Ox Nche scored a try on half time, Swarts was unable to convert the extra two as the Free State took a one point lead into the half time break.

Five minutes into the second half it was Ward’ center partner Luan Nieuwoudt who crossed the line for the Kings’ second try. Jaer was on target yet again as he added the extra’s, Kings regained  a 14 – 8 lead.

With time running out for the Free State, Tyron Goddard scored a try on the 60th minute, Swarts was unable to convert as Free State trailed by one point going into the last 10 minutes, 14 – 13.

The Kings got a last minute penalty, and with Jaer being on target the whole evening he had no problem adding the extra three points, and in doing so putting the final nail in the Free State coffin.

Kings running out victors, beating Free State 17 – 13.

The win means, the Kings move up one position on the log, currently forth after seven games, three log points behind third placed Free State on 17.

They enjoy a bye this week before they face the 5th placed Sharks, who still have two games in hand, on the 7th of September in Port Elizabeth.

Scorers

EP Kings u19 (17) – Tries: Jeremy Ward, Luan Nieuwouldt, Conversions: Malcolm Jaer (2), Penalty: Jaer

Free State u19 (13) – Tries: Ox Nche, Tyron Goddard, Penalty: Andre Swarts

Tough day for EP teams at first day of Southern Amateur tournament

Eastern Province Rugby Union clubs had a tough start at the beginning of the SA Rugby Southern Amateur Provincial Tournament hosted by EP Rugby in Humansdorp this week.

The first match saw the Eastern Province Country Districts team fall to an on form SWD, with a number of tactical errors seeing the home side go down 7 to 29.

The EP invitational team, which played against Western Province early afternoon put up a brave fight and were even at 12 points a side going into half time. Western Province, however, proved to be the more conditioned side in the second half, and ran in four tries in just 15 minutes.

EP Invitational gained their second wind in the dying minutes of the game, to claw back to a respectable 24 points, but were unable to close the gap. The final score for that match was 36 points to 24.

In the final match of the day, EP Urban went up against a determined Boland team. It was a close game with both sides playing their hearts out at the pristine Vosloo Park fields in Humansdorp.

Boland gained the edge over EP going into the break 10 points to EP on 6.

Boland’s discipline let them down in the second half, with two players being sent off with yellow cards shortly after each other, taking them down to 13 men on the field, but EP battled to get past the determined Boland defenders. The final score saw Boland take the match 34 points to EP on 21.

The arch rivalry between Border and Border Rural also saw the two teams battling it out for bragging rights during the first day. Although both teams got off to a slow start, it was Border Rural who eventually dominated the first half, going into the break 15 points to nil against the Urbancounterparts.

Harsh words must have been spoken in the Border change room at half time because they came back firing on all cylinders, closing the gap to just 1 point 15 minutes into the second half.

A penalty conversion saw Border Rural pull ahead briefly, but a converted try on the final whistle by Border saw them walk away victorious 24 points to Border rural on 21.

The next matches will be played on Wednesday, 27 August 2014.

10:30 EP Rural vs Border Rural

12:15 EP Invitational vs EP Urban

14:00 SWD vs Border Urban

16:00 Western Province vs Boland

SOUTHERN AMATEUR PROVINCIAL RUGBY TOURNAMENT

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION

This is an annual tournament that is hosted by a different Rugby Province of SARU. Boland hosted the tournament last year. Eastern Province Rugby Union were given the right to host this tournament earlier this year. The dates are 24-29 August 2014 and will be hosted by Kouga Sub Union (Humansdorp) on behalf of EPRU and ultimately on behalf of SARU.

There are only three playing dates, due to the physicality of the Rugby, Monday, 25 August, Wednesday, 27 August and Friday 29 August 2014. Vosloo Park and Humansdorp Secondary are the playing venues.

There is a Local Organising Committee in place under the leadership of Phillip Joseph (Vice President of EPRU). The Kouga Municipality and Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture Cacadu District are part of the planning for this event, without whose contributions this event will not be as it ought to be and we want to thank them for that.

1. FORMAT
   Eight (8) teams will participate in the Southern Amateur Provincial Tournament.

The eight (8) teams play a knock-out basis.  In the first round Provinces will play against one another, based on their log positions of the 2013 tournament.

After the first round the four (4) losers play for the plate Competition whilst the winners will compete for the Cup.

TEAM RANKINGS 2013:
1. Western Province
2. South Western Districts
3. Border
4. Eastern Province
5. Boland
6. Border CD
7. E.P. CD
8. E.P. Invitational XV

EP u19s to face Free State

The Eastern Province u19s will face the Free State Cheetahs u19s at the Central Fields in Uitenhage on Friday.

The Free State Cheetahs won the first encouter in Bloemfontein 26 - 9, on the 26th of July.

EP u19s are currently 5th on the log in Group A, with 2 wins from 6 games.

Eastern Province u19:

15 Malcolm Jaer 14 Martin Keller 13 Jeremy Ward 12 Luan Niewouldt 11 Lindelwe Zungu 10 Jasson Baggott 9 Kewan Gibb 8 Wynand Grassmann 7 Tylar Paul 6 CJ Velleman (c) 5 Sintu Manjezi 4 Gerrit Huisamen 3 James Beyl 2 JP Jamieson 1 David Murray

Reserves:

16 Dyllon Domoney 17 Christopher Whiting 18 Thembelihle Yase 19 Elandre van der Merwe 20 Mhlali Nichukana 21 Garrick Matheus 22 Vincient Moss 23 Dylan Vermaak

EP Kings to face Blue Bulls

Eastern Province Kings head coach, Carlos Spencer, announced a number of changes to the forward pack that will take on the Vodacom Blue Bulls at Loftus this weekend.

Luke Watson will once again lead the team onto the field, having returned to training on Wednesday, after a bout of flu saw him withdrawn from the side at the last minute last week.

Junior Springbok Aidon Davis, who stood in for Watson at no. 8 against the Lions, will sit this game out due to the flu.

Up front Lizo Gqoboka, Edgar Marutlulle and Tom Botha retain their spots, but Steven Cummins and David Bulbring make way for the more experienced Darron Nell and Steven Sykes.

“Darron and Steven bring with them a bit of physicality up front, which we lacked in the last game and which we will need against the Bulls this week,” he said.

Stefan Willemse moves from outside flank to inside flank, with Thembelani Bholi making way for Paul Schoeman.

“Paul comes in because we felt we just need a bit more energy at the back and have someone who could put a bit of pressure on the breakdown,” he said.

Kevin Luiters also returns to the team, starting at scrumhalf, after missing out on the Lions game after getting a cut below his eye in training last week.

“Tobie [Botes] has had a bit of a problem with his wrist the past few weeks so he’s pulled out and Kevin will take his place, with Jaco [Grobler] on the bench,” he said.

The backs remain unchanged, with Gary van Aswegen at flyhalf, Siviwe Soyizwapi and Ronnie Cooke on wing and Shane Gates and Time Whitehead at inside and outside centre respectively. Scott van Breda will once again start at fullback.

Spencer also announced three new additions to the bench, with Albé de Swardt making way for Mike van Vuuren and former Lions prop, Charles Marais, making his debut for the Kings in place of CJ van der Linde who is out with a calf strain.

“Mike has been doing a lot of conditioning and been working hard over the past few weeks so we felt it was time for him to get an opportunity this week,” he said.

Siyanda Grey also joins the bench in place of Ntabeni Dukisa, who has also battled with a bit of flu as well as having taken a knock to the knee against the Lions.

Also on the bench are Steven Cummins, Thembelani Bholi, Jaco Grobler and George Whitehead.

Spencer said more experience was needed to help steady the team, especially when things were not going well on the field.

“Hopefully Steven and Darron will bring that experience. Especially when we’re down and falling behind on the scoreboard, we’ve had that lack of experience. This is a young group and a lot of them are still learning, so helpfully they will be able to lead by example.”

Spencer said they were expecting a tough game against the Bulls, as both teams would be looking for a win on Saturday.

“They are in a similar position as we are. They have their backs against the wall, they have lost two on the trot, as we have, and we’re going there to their home ground. From what I’ve heard they are under a bit of pressure so they’re going to come out firing,” he said.

Spencer said the team would need to make an impact early on.

“It is important after two losses that you get confidence early so they’re just going to go out there and get stuck into them,” he said.

EP Kings:
1. Lizo Gqoboka 2. Edgar Marutlulle 3. Tom Botha 4. Darron Nel 5. Steven Sykes 6. Stefan Willemse 7. Paul Schoeman 8. Luke Watson (Captain) 9. Kevin Luiters 10. Gary van Aswegen 11. Siviwe Soyizwapi 12.  Shane Gates 13. Tim Whitehead 14. Ronnie Cooke 15. Scott van Breda

Replacements:
16. Mike van Vuuren 17. Charles Marais 18. Steven Cummins 19. Themelani Bholi 20. Jaco Grobler 21. George Whitehead 22. Siyanda Grey

EP Kings u21 outscores Griffons 9 tries to 1

The Eastern Province Kings u21s scored five first half tries and four second half tries as they thumped the Griffons u21s 59 - 7, at the North West Stadium in Welkom on Saturday.

Kings' Sergeal Petersen opened the scoring for the visitors afters five minutes, conversion missed by Matthys Venter as the Kings took an early 5 - 0 lead.

Selvyn Davids scored his first try of the evening a few minutes later, Venter was on target with the extra two, 12 - 0 for the visitors.

It did not take Petersen long to cross the line again, as he scored his second try of the evening, again Venter was unsuccessful with the conversion, but the Kings had a comfortable 17 - 0 lead after just 20 minutes.

Ivan-John du Preez and Mario Mowers scored back to back tries, Venter converted both tries as the Kings took a demanding 31 - 0 lead into the half time break.

Kings' Siphu Msutwana started the second half with two unanswered tries, the first after just three minutes into the half, the second came in the 60th minutes, Venter converted both tries as the Kings took a 45 - 0 lead.

Five mintes later Selvyn Davids scored his second try of the evening, Venter kicked his 6th conversion to give the Kings a 52 point lead.

Griffons' Bren Marais scored a consolation try for his team in the 70th minutes, Rynardt Muller added the extra two, 52 - 7.

It was a fitting end for Kings captain Kevin Kaba to score his teams 9th and final try of the evening, Venter kicked his seventh conversion to give the Kings a 59 - 7 win.

The EP Kings are leading Group B of the ABSA Under 21 Competition with 10 points, after two bonus point wins from two games, second is SWD on 9 followed by Boland with a game in hand on 5. Valke are also on 5 points but they already played their 2 games. Griquas, Limpopo BB, Griffons and the Pumas form the bottom 4.  

 Their next game will the against Boland on the 22nd of August at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth at 7pm.

Scorers:

EP Kings u21 (59) - Tries: Sergeal Petersen (2), Selvyn Davids (2), Ivan-John du Preez, Mario Mower, Siphu Msutwana (2), Kevin Kaba, Conversions: Matthys Venter (7)

Griffons u21 (7) - Tries: Reynardt Muller, Conversion: Bren Marais 

Good win for u19s at Ellis Park

The Eastern Province u19 side turned an 8 - 7 half time lead against the Golden Lions u19 into an 18 - 7 win at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on Saturday.

Golden Lions fullback, Kobus Engelbrecht scored the only try for the home team in the 7th minute, Frederik Bezuidenhout kicked the extra two to take an early 7 - 0 lead.

Kings' Malcolm Jaer kicked a penalty two minutes later to narrow the gap to four points.

CJ Vellerman scored the Kings' first try with a minute to play until half time, Jaer was unsuccessful with the conversion as the Kings took a one point lead into the half time break.

Jaer stretched their lead further through a penalty kick in the 48th minute, taking the score to 11 - 7.

Left wing, Lindelwe Zungu scored the Kings' final try, Jaer converted to give the Kings an 18 - 7 win.

The Kings are currently 5th on 10 points in Group A, with 2 wins from 6 games.

Their next match will be against the Free State u19s at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on the 22nd of August at 5pm.

Scorers:

EP Kings u19 (18) - Tries: CJ Vellerman, Lindelwe Zungu, Conversion: Malcolm Jaer (1), Penalties: Jaer (2) 

Golden Lions u19 (7) - Tries: Kobus Engelbrecht, Conversion: Frederik Bezuidenhout

Injury update

The EP Kings came through the game against the Xerox Golden Lions relatively unscathed, despite earlier concerns that CJ van der Linde may have torn his calf muscle towards the end of the game.

At practice this afternoon it was confirmed that van der Linde had sustained a calf strain and would not be available for selection this week, and would be going for scans, but that the injury did not appear to be as severe as previously thought.

Ntabeni Dukisa will also not be up for selection this week, due to a knee injury that he sustained during the match against the Lions.

Concerns were raised about a bout of flu that is doing the rounds in the camp, with Dukisa and AidonDavis both currently being treated. Luke Watson is recovering from the flu that saw him miss the game on Saturday and is expected to return to training tomorrow.

Gary van Aswegen was also rested during this afternoon’s training, after a knock to the knee on Saturday, but the medical team say that it is just swelling and the rest was precautionary.

Charl du Plessis, who went out with a rib injury during the friendly against the Cheetahs on the 1 August, would still be unavailable for selection for another two weeks.

Paul Perez, who sustained a knee injury during training before the Cheetahs friendly, has had his knee operation and will be out for at least another six weeks.

On the positive side, Simon Kerrod has returned, while Tim Agaba is also back, although not cleared for full contact yet.

Kevin Luiters, who was withdrawn from the team last week after sustaining a cut to his right cheekbone during a training session, which required 5 stitches, has also been cleared for selection.

 

Watson: Province, Lions and personal performance

Despite going down 16 - 35 in their opening round clash against Western Province at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium a week ago, Luke Watson believes there were a few positives to take from the game.

"I think the mere fact that we could come away from the game knowing exactly what the negatives are is a positive in itself." 

"Knowing what areas to work on is quite obvious. What our strengths are and coming away from the game on the weekend we were made aware of some of those strengths. We were not even aware of it at the time, our forward pack performed really well and our set piece held up really nicely, but there are some tactical areas we can improve on."  

"I definitely think despite the result, despite things not going our way there are positives we can take away from the game." said Watson

Looking at the game ahead, he said, "The Lions are a quality outfit, they are a well balanced side and i think they are one of the few sides in South African rugby that are prepared to do anything at any time and any position on the field." 

"They like to play unpredictable, unconventional rugby which is at times difficult to defend and on top of that they really have a very good set piece. Their forwards present a very unique challenge, a good balance of youth and also experience and definitely a team that plays for each other." 

"I think Johan Ackerman has done a great job establishing a strong culture there, and their set piece and their forward pack is something we would have to concentrate on for the full eighty minutes."

Watson thinks South African rugby is really fortunate to have an abundance of good quality loose forwards.

"Last week it was Nazaan Carr, this week it is Warren Whitley, next week it will be another challenge."

He added, "South African rugby have an abundance of loose forwards that in any team, on any given day, any given weekend we will have fantastic players, star players, in each position." 

"Warren Whitley is a fantastic player, slightly different to Nazaan Carr and slightly a different challenge, but non the less, he is in fantastic form and he has been a great leader for the Lions, and they have some good momentum so its going to be an interesting battle to try and nullify the Warren Whitley effect on the weekend." he said

Watson said there is still a long way to go, but he was pleased with the time he was given against Western Province.

"I cant say i've ever been the sort of player that's ever really happy with a performance or really satisfied very easily."  

"After not having played for a year and a half, and the real first competitive game i've played in a year and a half, and the longest sort of 70 minutes i got in this period, i was pleased."
 
"There were certain elements i was happy with and a lot to still work on, fitness still to get, game fitness to get, but onwards and upwards and week in and week out and getting better and better, but there is still a long way to go." he said.

Watson, who scored his teams first try in the 33rd minute and despite the loss walked away with the ABSA Man of the Match award, will again lead his team out against the Xerox Golden Lions when they play each other at Ellis Park on Saturday.

Eastern Province Kings u21 to face Griffons

The Eastern Province Kings u21 team that will take on the Griffons u21 in Welkom on Saturday afternoon has been announced.

EP Kings u21 Head Coach, Ryan Felix, announced just one change to the starting line up from the team that defeated the Valke 42 to 22 last week Saturday in Kempton Park.

Felix said he was positive that the team were capable of putting on a better performance than they did against the Valke.

“I don’t think that the team performed to their best ability on the day, despite the score, there were areas we need to work on,” he said.  

Felix said the team had focused on their set piece this week, specifically focusing on their breakdown and scrumming, where they had been assisted by SARU Kings Academy Manager Robbi Kempson.

“We have also focused on our defensive work, specifically on tackling and stopping the opposition from gaining momentum,” he said.

Felix said there was only change to the starting line up, with Stephan Zaayman being replaced by Claude Tshidibi, who comes up from the bench. Zaayman is out following an injury he sustained during the match last week.

Abongile Mnyaka  is the only new addition to the team, taking Tshidibi’s spot on the bench.

EP Kings u21:

1 Nicolas Roebech 2 John-Henry Schmitt 3 Mzuvukile Sofisa 4 Kevin Kaba (c) 5 Brendon Hector 6 Siphesihle Punguzwa 7 Claude Tshidibi 8 Ivan-John du Preez 9 Francwa Ueckermann 10 Matthys Venter 11 Ayabulela Dlepu 12 Riaan Esterhuizen 13 Siphumelele Msutwana 14 Sergeal Petersen 15 Selvyn Davids

Reserves:

16 Tyron Rankin 17 Matthew Moore 18 Abongile Mnyaka 19 Frans Gerber 20 Mario Mowers 21 Warren Swarts 22 Khaya Malotana

 

EP Kings to face the Lions

The Eastern Province Kings will be taking an unchanged team, bar one, to face the Xerox Golden Lions at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on Saturday afternoon. 

EP Kings Head Coach, Carlos Spencer, announced just one change to the team, which will once again be led by Luke Watson, with Steven Sykes coming onto the bench in place of Darron Nel.

Up Front Lizo Gqoboka will once again start at loosehead prop, Edgar Marutlulle at hooker and Tom Botha at tighthead prop, while Steven Cummins and David Bulbring team up as locks to make up the tight five.

Thembelani Bholi and Stefan Willemse will remain on inside and outside flank respectively, while Watson returns at No 8.

Tobie Botes once again starts at the much contested spot of scrumhalf, with Gary van Aswegen opening at flyhalf.

Ronnie Cooke returns to wing alongside Siviwe Soyizwapi, with Shane Gates and Tim Whitehead at inside and outside Centre respectively. Scott van Breda takes his spot at fullback.

Joining Sykes on the bench are Albé de Swardt, CJ van der Linde, Aidon Davis, Kevin Luiters, George Whitehead and Ntabeni Dukisa.

Spencer said the team were looking forward to the game against the Lions on Saturday.

“They are probably not as physical (as Western Province) but they’re more of ball players and their work rate is high. They get around the pitch, not only defensively but with ball in hand as well,” he said.

Spencer said he wasn’t disappointed in the team following last week’s defeat by DHL Western Province, chalking it up to first game jitters.

“There are still a lot of games to come and I said to the boys did they watch the rugby on the weekend and how open this competition is.

“I believe anyone can beat anyone on the day. I believe some of them had first day game jitters last week so hopefully they have gotten those out of the way that is why we have decided to stick to the same starting fifteen and haven’t made any changes.”

“We’re showing our faith and our confidence in this group to do the job this week,” he said.

EP Kings:

1. Lizo Gqoboka 2. Edgar Marutlulle 3. Tom Botha 4. Steven Cummins 5. David Bulbring 6. Thembelani Bholi 7. Stefan Willemse 8. Luke Watson (C) 9. Tobie Botes 10. Gary van Aswegen 11. Siviwe Soyizwapi 12. Shane Gates 13. Tim Whitehead 14. Ronnie Cooke 15. Scott van Breda

Replacements:

16. Albé de Swardt 17. CJ van der Linde 18. Steven Sykes 19. Aidon Davis 20. Kevin Luiters 21. George Whitehead 22. Ntabeni Dukisa

Welcome back

After an absence of twelve years Eastern Province will make their long awaited return to South Africa's most prestigious rugby competition, the ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division, when they face Western Province tonight at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth.

Eastern Province has been on the rise since 2010, after changing their name from the Mighty Elephants to the EP Kings and also moving across from their beloved Boet Erasmus Stadium to the world class Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. 

Eastern Province has never been a union to compete against the likes of the Northern Transvaal, Western Province and Transvaal in the early years of the competition, but they have had their glory years.

The teams of 1974, 1979 and 1980 reached the semi final stages of the competition, but failed to beat Northern Transvaal in 1974 and 1979 and Western Province in 1980.

In 1993 they finished 3rd, and qualified to play in the Super 10 in 1994, but failed to win any of their group matches against Transvaal, Otago, North Harbour and Queensland.

Throughout the late 90's and early 2000's they failed to impress in the A Division of the competition and bottom of the log was a firmiliar place year after year.

Things started to look positive for the men in the red and black hoops when they qualified for the final of the ABSA Currie Cup 1st Division in 2007, but failed to beat SWD as they finished Runners Up.

A new era in Eastern Province Rugby started in 2010 as they started building for the Super Rugby. In the same year they won the ABSA Currie Cup 1st Division for the 1st time when they beat SWD. They were also given an opportunity to get promoted to the Premier Division but failed to beat the Pumas in a home and away promotion/relegation.

The following year they qualified again for the final, but went down to Boland. In 2012 they won the final against the Pumas after they've been relegated to the 1st Division.

In 2013 they were included in Super 15 competition at the expense of the Lions. The Southern Kings made history in their first match when they beat the Western Force at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. As many expected they did finish at the bottom of the log, but they did manage to beat the Rebels in Australia and the Highlanders at home, they also drew against the Brumbies in Australia, who ended up playing in the final.

The Kings will have 5 home fixtures in the 2014 ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division.

HOME FIXTURES:

DHL Western Province - 8 August

Xerox Lions - 30 August

Vodacom Blue Bulls - 12 September

Toyota Cheetahs - 20 September

Steval Pumas - 10 October

EPRU and Virgin Active making a difference

The Eastern Province Rugby Union and Virgin Active Greenacres teamed up this week to assist schools from previously disadvantaged areas with spinning bikes for their sports departments.

Virgin Active Greenacres, who have recently upgraded their Spinning Bike facilities, donated 38 of their old bikes, valued at around R15,000 each, to EPRU, specifically to assist with development.

The spinning bikes will be shared amongst seven high schools in the Nelson Mandela Bay area, namely Ndzondelelo, John Walton, Tamsanqa, Arcadia, David Livingstone, Solomon Mahlangu and Itembelihle.

“We are thankful for the bikes that have been donated by Virgin Active and we are positive that they will make a positive difference at the schools that will be receiving them,” said Cheeky Watson, EPRU President.

“This was a great opportunity for us to be able to give something back to those less fortunate schools that do not necessarily have the access to gym facilities or equipment,” said Kevin Frieslaar, Virgin Active Greenacres Operations Manager.

Frieslaar said it was great to see that the schools who would be receiving the bikes had a strong rugby culture and said he hoped that the bikes would help the players develop.

“Hopefully these bikes will help the players at the schools, who can now up their fitness and conditioning, which will in turn lead to better performance on the field and who knows, perhaps get a chance to represent their schools at a national or even international level,” said Frieslaar.

(Press Release)

EP Kings to face Western Province

The Eastern Province Kings team that will take on the DHL Western Province in their first Currie Cup Premier Division match of the season at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Friday evening at 19h10.

EP Kings Head Coach, Carlos Spencer announced his team following two months of warm up games that have seen the Kings take on Wales, a Bulls XV, a Sharks XV, the SWD Eagles and the Free State Cheetahs.

The team, which will be led by Luke Watson, includes Lizo Gqoboka at loosehead prop, EdgarMarutlulle at hooker and Tom Botha at tighthead prop, while Steven Cummins and David Bullbringteam up as locks to make up the tight five.

Thembelani Bholi and Stefan Willemse take up inside and outside flank respectively, while Watson comes on at the familiar eigthman.

Tobie Botes starts at the much contested spot of scrumhalf, with Gary van Aswegen opening atflyhalf.

Siviwe Shakes Soyizwapi and Ronnie Cooke take up the two wing positions, with Shane Gates and Tim Whitehead at inside and outside Centre respectively. Scott van Breda takes his spot at fullback.

Spencer said that while there had been concerns around Gqoboka’s fitness ahead of the match, following a mild concussion after the Cheetahs game in Cradock, he had been in training and that, subject to a clearance from the medical team, he should be fit to start.

“Yes, we did have a few headaches when it came to choosing the team, there were a number of players who have put their hand up in the pre season, and it wasn’t easy to finalise the team,” he said.

Spencer said while it was a definite shift in gears to Currie Cup, the focus was on the game aheadagainst Western Province and keeping things relaxed amongst the players ahead of the game.

“We really want to keep the players as calm and relaxed as possible and that they must enjoy the week ahead of the game,” he said.

EP Kings:

1 Lizo Gqoboka 2 Edgar Marutlulle 3 Tom Botha 4 Steven Cummins 5 David Bulbring 6 Thembelani Bholi 7 Stefan Willemse 8 Luke Watson (C) 9 Tobie Botes 10 Gary van Aswegen 11 Siviwe Soyizwapi 12 Shane Gates 13 Tim Whitehead 14 Ronnie Cooke 15 Scott van Breda   

Replacements: 16 Albé de Swardt 17 CJ van der Linde 18 Darron Nell 19 Aidon Davis 20 Kevin Luiters 21 George Whitehead 22 Ntabeni Dukisa  

Kings lose final warm-up in Cradock

THE Eastern Province Kings failed to impress in their last warm up friendly, when they went down 12 (5) -28 (7) to the Free State Cheetahs at the Cradock Sports Fields on Friday.

The Kings took to the field with a much changed team from their game against the SWD Eagles that won in George two weeks ago by 78 points to 32.

The first half got off to a slow start with both teams feeling each other out and with the EP Kings shifting their focus from running rugby to a more set style of play, with a strong emphasis on kicking the ball.

A bit of loose play resulted in the first points being added to the board after an intercept by the Cheetahs, with Francois Venter dotting the ball down behind the whitewash for the visitors. Willie du Plessis converted and took the Cheetahs to seven points.

Siviwe Shakes Soyizwapi broke through the Cheetahs defense and dotted down in the far corner shortly after to get the Kings on the board, with Scott van Breda’s conversion pulling to the left.

The teams went into the half time break with the Kings trailing just two points on five to the Free State Cheetahs seven.

The second half was much of the same, with the Cheetahs captain Torsten van Jaarsveld getting the first points of the second half, 10 minutes in with a try neatly converted by Elgar Watts.

After another 20 minutes of play back and forth between the two halves, Soyizwapi once again broke through the Cheetahs line and dotted the ball down neatly between the posts for his second try of the game, with Ntabeni Dukisa putting the conversion over to take the Kings to 12.

The Kings then tried to step up the pace, but were let down by a brief lapse in concentration that saw Francois Venter dot down his second try of the evening, with AJ le Roux following him shortly thereafter to get the Cheetahs fourth try of the game on the final whistle.

Both tries were converted by Watts, to take the visitors to 28 points to the Kings 12 at full time.

The EP Kings will face Western Province in the opening game of this year's ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth, when the competition kicks-off on Friday the 8th of August.

Point scorers:
EP Kings - Tries: Shakes Soyizwapi (2)
Conversions: Ntabeni Dukisa (1)

Free State Cheetahs - Tries: Francois Venter (2) Torsten van Jaarsveld (1) AJ le Roux (1)
Conversions: Willie du Plessis (1) Elgar Watts (3)