The Eastern Province Kings have showed much improvement after their opening round 14 - 51 loss to the Xerox Golden Lions a fortnight ago, when they faced the Cell C Sharks in their Round 2 fixture at Kingspark this past Saturday.
Kings head coach, Brent Janse van Rensburg showed faith in his team despite a heavy defeat a week prior. Opting for only one change to his starting XV, it paid off in the opening minutes when George Whitehead opened the scoring for his team.
The match was a bit of a see-saw battle as the Kings lost and regained the lead three times. The Kings scored another try in the first half, through Tim Agaba, before adding another two through Enrico Acker and Steven Sykes to pick up a well deserved bonus-point. Unfortunately for the Kings the Sharks kicked a penalty and scored a converted try in the last quarter to regain the lead and secure a hard fought 33 - 25 win.
Turning the focus to this week's opponents, the Steval Pumas, the Kings will definitely fancy their chances against a team many close battles have been won and lost.
For the last decade these two sides have been battling it out, mostly in the First Division, often with a single point separating the two after the final whistle.
In 2005 the Pumas won both games, 36 - 29 in Port Elizabeth and 31 - 20 in Nelspruit. The following year the teams did not play as the Pumas were promoted to the Premier Division.
In 2007 the BA Mighty Elephants, as they were known then, won the first match 22 - 21 at the EPRU Stadium. The Pumas got the better of EP in their return match as they went down 48 - 24 at the Witbank Stadium.
The opener in 2008 also came down to the wire, as the Pumas ran out victors 32 - 30, despite two late tries by the visitors and 32 - 24 in their return fixture in Port Elizabeth.
The nail biting continued in 2009 with only two points separating the teams, 27 - 25, in favour of the Pumas on the Central Grounds in Uitenhage. The home side scored five tries to three as they turned a 24 - 20 half-time lead into a 44 - 30 full-time score at the Pumas Stadium in Witbank in their return fixture.
The teams did not meet during the 2010 and 2011 First Division seasons, but did play in the promotion / relegation play-off for Premier Division in 2010. Having moved to the iconic Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium and under coaching guidance of Alan Solomans, the EP Kings won the First Division to set-up a promotion / relegation play-off against the Pumas. The teams played to a 36-all draw in Witbank with the decider to be played in Port Elizabeth. The Kings unfortunately went down 28 - 46 in front of a 42 000 sell-out crowd at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
The rivalry was so intense in 2012, that the points difference were level until the final. The first match ended 30-all and the return match ended 26-all, setting up a final and some revenge for the Kings at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth. The Kings won the First Division cup for the second time since 2010, 26 - 25.
The 2013 season saw another Kings and Pumas final, after the Pumas won both round-robin matches, 29 - 13 in Port Elizabeth and 33 - 32 in Witbank. The Pumas turned a 19 - 9 half-time lead into a 53 - 30 win, scoring six tries to two.
In 2014 the teams met in the ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division as the EP Kings returned to top flight rugby for the first time in twelve years. It was a tough season for the returning Kings but the men from Port Elizabeth threw everything into their final match to record their only victory of the season, 26 - 25.
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