Tuesday 5 July 2016

Marutlulle to lead Kings against Lions

The Southern Kings have announced three new inclusions to their Vodacom Super Rugby squad ahead of their clash against the Emirates Lions in Johannesburg on Friday.


Head Coach Deon Davids has made six changes to his starting line-up, including a change in captaincy with Edgar Marutlulle taking over the role after Steven Sykes was not available for personal reasons.

Four changes in the front see Sti Sithole rotating with Schalk Ferreira at loosehead prop, while Jacobie Adriaanse returns at tighthead after missing out last week’s game against the Highlanders due to a late calf strain and Schalk Oelosfe comes in at left lock in place of Sykes.

Making his debut for the Southern Kings and earning his first start in the Vodacom Super Rugby competition is Andile Ntsila, who joined the Southern Kings on loan from the SWD Eagles on Monday.

Davids said Ntsila would have a significant role to play as a fetcher for the team, but he was confident in his abilities.

Davids has also opted to start with James Hall at scrumhalf, who returns from playing for the SA U20s in the junior world championships in Manchester, England. At Flyhalf, Elgar Watts moves onto the bench, with Louis Fouche starting.

Also making their Super Rugby debuts are Sintu Manjezi and Jeremy Ward, who will be on the bench for Friday’s game, having been called up from the EP Currie Cup squad.

Marutlulle said he was looking forward to the match against the Lions, saying it was a great opportunity for the team to showcase their skills, and that they had taken heart from their previous performance against the Lions at Nelson Mandela Bay.

Southern Kings:

15 Malcolm Jaer 14 Lukhanyo Am 13 Stefan Watermeyer 12 Shane Gates (VC) 11 Wandile Mjekevu 10 Louis Fouche 9 James Hall 8 Aidon Davis 7 Stefan Willemse 6 Andisa Ntsila (Debut)5 JC Astle 4 Schalk Oelofse 3 Jacobie Adriaanse 2 Edgar Marutlulle (C) 1 Sti Sithole

Reserves:

16 Martin Bezuidenhout 17 Schalk Ferreira 18 Tom Botha 19 Sintu Manjezi (Debut) 20 Jacques Engelbrecht 21 Ntando Kebe 22 Dewald Human 23 Jeremy Ward (Debut)

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