Wednesday 18 December 2013

Did SARU fail EP Rugby?

The 2013 season could easily be the best season in the history of EP Rugby. From club level through to junior structures, varsity and senior level. The season however did not come without disappointment, but the union layed some solid foundations for the future.

Despatch Rugby Club won the first SARU Community Cup, previously known as the National Club Championship, when they beat College Rovers in the final. NMMU Madibaz reached the semi-final of the Varsity Cup for the first time since the start of the competition in 2008. Both the EP Kings u19 and u21s won their respective competitions. The EP Kings finished 3rd in the Southern Section of the Vodacom Cup.

At senior level the Southern Kings played their first season of Super Rugby. They did finish at the bottom of the log and did lose their Super Rugby status to the Lions, but it opened the door for so many fringe players making a name for themselves on an International stage. Probably the most memoral games would be their opening win against the Western Force at a packed Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium and their draw against the 2013 runners up, Brumbies, in Australia. What good did SARU do to give the Southern Kings a single year in Super Rugby?

After a slow start to their 1st Division campaign, they recovered from their early loses to reach their 4th concecutive final in the ABSA Currie Cup 1st Division. 

EP Rugby had a promising year and the future looked bright as SARU planned to include an extra two teams to the Premier Division of the Currie Cup, something special was happening in the Eastern Cape. 

The Pumas qualified for the 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division, after beating the EP Kings in the 1st Division Final and beating Griquas in the promotion/relegation matches.

A season in the 1st Division could be devastating for any Premier Division side essentially if it is one of your smaller unions. Losing sponsors and players being your biggest dangers. Look at what happened to the Leopards and Boland. For the 2014 season Griquas have lost 22 players, with the most notable being Willie le Roux and Lourens Adriaanse. With the uncertainty surrounding the EP Kings and their possible entry to the Premier Division, 32 players have decided to leave the province and play elsewhere. Many are against SARUs proposal of giving EP Rugby a "free ride" to the Premier Division of the Currie Cup and say they must earn their place. 32 players left, and with no draw card to lure players to the province, how can they put themselves in a position to earn a spot in the Premier Division.
The reality is, players want to play Super Rugby and Currie Cup. Would players like Steven Sykes, Andries Strauss or Demitri Catrakilis even have considered to come down to Port Elizabeth if the Southern Kings did not play Super Rugby. Would the Sharks have offered SP Marais a contract if he did not play Super Rugby, the same goes for Jacques Engelbrecht going to the Bulls. Would there have been any interest in Sergeal Petersen? Players like Wimpie van der Walt, Cornell du Preez and Schalk Ferreira getting contracts with overseas clubs. The same goes for Griquas playes like Riaan Viljoen, Willie le Roux and Lourens Adriaanse. Would le Roux and Adriaanse have played for the Springboks if they did not play Super Rugby for the Cheetahs.

Some of the best rugby schools are down in the Eastern Cape, some of your best players come from the Eastern Cape. It will only be a positive move for SA Rugby and EP Rugby if SARU introduces EP Rugby back to Premier Division Currie Cup rugby. Its a professional era and players have the option to play where they choose, but for most of the Eastern Cape boys its a case of forcing them to play elsewhere. Often playing for a different province means you second or third choice behind a local player, getting 5 or 10 minutes every Saturday. Let the EP Kings play Currie Cup, give the province and their players full exposure, they have shown us their commitment during Super Rugby, how much more will they achieve with a few seasons of Currie Cup Premier Division. 

Wednesday 11 December 2013

Cell C Nelson Mandela Bay Sevens

This past weekend was round three of the HSBC Sevens World Series, and the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth pulled out all the stops to make it a memorable one. Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium has been hosting this event for the last three years since 2011.

In 2011, New Zealand beat South Africa in the Cup Final 31 - 26. Samoa took third place by beating England 17 - 14. Wales beat Fiji in the Plate, Scotland beat Canada in the Bowl and Zimbabwe beat Kenya in the Shield. South Africa finished their pool stages with a clean slate and scoring 104 points, New Zealand scored 125 points and conceded 7. Over the 45 matches played, 257 tries were scored with Frank Halai from New  Zealand being the top try scorer with 10 tries. New Zealanders Junior Tomasi Cama and Frank Halai was also the top points scorers with 50 points each.   

In 2012, New Zealand again won the Cup, this time beating France 47 - 12. After losing to New Zealand in the semi-finals, South Africa played Argentina beating them 35 - 0 to take Third place. In a repeat of the previous year's final, Wales beat Fiji to win the Plate final. Australia won the Bowl final by beating Samoa and Spain beat Zimbabwe in the Shield final. South Africa finished top of the pool scoring 58 points and conceding 19. Cup Winners New Zealand ended second behind Fiji in their pool, scoring 50 and conceding 38 points. Over the 45 games played, 235 tries were scored with Kurt Baker topping the tries column with 8. Baker was also the top points scorer with 40 points.  

For the last two years New Zealand had the favour of the crowd with back to back Cup trophies, but 2013 South Africa had a different motivation. The crowd also played their part in coming out in numbers to support the Blitz Bokke, 26 908 on the Saturday and 30 860 on the Sunday to watch South Africa beat New Zealand 17 - 14 in the Cup final. 

Samoa beat Argentina 21 - 7 to take Third place, Fiji took the Plate after beating France, England beat Australia in the Bowl final and Scotland beat Canada in the Shield final. Both South Africa and New Zealand conceded two tries during the round robin matches with South Africa scoring 89 points with 15 tries and New Zealand scoring 120 points with 22 tries. Australia's Shannon Walker was the top try scorer with 9 tries, the closest South Africans were, team captain Kyle Brown, Branco du Preez and Werner Kok on 4 a piece and Justin Geduld on 3. 

After Sundays win the Blitz Bokke moved back to no 2 on the series standings, two points behind New Zealand on 58 and a comfortable 8 points ahead of no 3, Fiji.

New Zealand have won the most titles since the IRB Sevens World Series started in 1999, with a total of 11, they are also the current holders of the title. Only 3 other countries have managed to take this title away from New Zealand, Fiji won in 2005/06, South Africa in 2008/09 and Samoa in 2009/10. New Zealand is also leading the overall table after 14 season on 137.07 points with Fiji second on 116.28 points and South Africa third on 95.92 points.

All time top try scorers are Santiago Gomez Cora  from Argentina with 230 tries, Ben Gollings from England on 220 and Fabian Juries from South Africa on 179. Active players are Collings Injera from Kenya in forth with 167 tries, Tomasi Cama from New Zealand in sixth on 145 tries and Dan Norton from England seventh on 143 tries. The top active points scorer for South Africa is Cecil Afrika in 9th place on 820. Frankie Horne is 8th on the list of most appearances, 51.

Round 4 will take the teams to Las Vegas, where South Africa will share Pool A with Kenya, Wales and Canada.   

Wednesday 4 December 2013

Touch Isithembiso

This past Saturday Isithembiso Babies Home had its first touch rugby fundraiser, Touch Isithembiso. The fundraiser consisted of ten invitational teams playing in two pools. The inter-pool round robins were followed by the two top teams from each pool going through to the semi finals. The losing finalists played in a 3rd/4th play-off which was followed by the final.

Isithembiso officially opened their doors on the 1st of November 2005, and has cared for more than 60 babies to date. Isithembiso is a place of safety for children between the ages of 0-3 years who have been abandoned, abused, neglected or orphaned. We work hand in hand with social services to find these children new families or to reunite them with their biological family according to their individual case.

Isithembiso's mission is to speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves. Proverbs 31 v 8-9 “Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor & needy.” Secondly, to reach the community by providing a safe home for children these children.

Isithembiso takes a maximum of 6 children at a time. The reason that they want 6 babies in the home at a time is that at the age of five, the brain has reached 90 percent of its adult size and the child’s emotional, behavioural, cognitive and social foundation is set for the rest of the individual’s life. They are therefore very much aware of the responsibility they have of taking care of these children at such an incredibly critical stage of their lives. To do this well they need to be able to give much one-on-one time to each individual child. The goal being to restore love, trust and security to these little ones who have had such traumatic starts to life, as well as physically rehabilitate the many children who come into their home who are often far behind on developmental milestones due to malnourishment, neglect and abuse.

 

Isithembiso relies solely on the donations of individuals and businesses to run from month to month. Some of thier expenses include rent, the salaries of the 6 staff members, rates and the general running of the household.

 

If you would like to get involved in assisting them in any way or visit the home so that you can get a better idea of what they do and who they are doing it for, you can contact Carmen Faragher | Home administrator to set up an appointment.

 

For any further information please feel free to check out their website www.isithembiso.org and/or ‘LIKE’ their facebook page. You can also contact them on 041 581 0374.


The semi-finals were played between Die Grensvegters, Varsity Reds, The Slayers and The Trojans. Die Grensvegters beat Varsity Reds 8 - 4 in the one semi-final with The Trojans beating The Slayers 7 - 1 in the other. The Slayers beat Varsity Reds 6 - 4 to take the 3rd place, with the final being played between the two better sides on the day as The Trojans beat Die Grensvegters, 8 - 1, in a somewhat one sided game.


A special thanks to Nutri Tech, USN, Tsitsikamma Crystal, Action Sports, AG Aviation Africa and all the teams for their contributions in making the day a success. 

Thursday 21 November 2013

Kings Academy u19 squad for 2014

There is no denying the past 6 months have been tough for the Eastern Province Kings as a union, from failing to retain a number of players after being relegated from Super Rugby right through to severe financial loss and ultimately failing to defend their Currie Cup First Division title. Through all of this, there have been great positives in the junior structures. None more so than with the Eastern Province u19s who deservedly beat Border 27-20 in the u19 promotion-relegation game to earn promotion to the u19 Premier Division for the 2014 season. The win will hopefully bring back a sense of belief among a group of dejected supporters reflected in the dwindling numbers at the games from Super Rugby to Currie Cup.

 

The Kings Academy is quite upbeat about next year as they have contracted a strong group of 21 u18 schoolboys for next year’s competition; the group primarily consists of Eastern Cape talent with only 2 players from outside the provinceMatthew Jackson is a tighthead prop who captained the Westville 1st rugby team in KZN; he’s a big man who tips the scale at 123kgs. Luke Houba is a scrumhalf who was one of the influential players for the Rondebosch 1st XV in Cape Town and both he and Matthew will bring a new dimension to an already close group of Eastern Cape boys.

 

Grey High School in Port Elizabeth had the top 1st XV in the Eastern Cape as they went through the season unbeaten. Five boys from that 1st XV will join the academy, namely Gerrit HuisamenBathandwa CafuThabaniMgugudo, Nick Beswick and CJ VellemanGerrit and Bathandwa featured for this year’s u19 side already and will bring good experience next year. Cyril-John Velleman is a very highly rated openside flanker and is technically 1 of the best schoolboy fetchers I have seen in years. His work rate and leadership are exceptional and I rate he was a dead certainty for SA Schools this year, but he got injured in the 1st game at Craven Week against Free State and missed the rest of the week.

 

The school with the 2nd most boys is St Andrew’s College of Grahamstown. The private school had a good 1st XV this year and it was reflected in the Craven Week side with 7 out of the 22 being scholars of St Andrew’s College, 4 of those boys will continue their rugby at the Kings next year. David Murray, Tyler Paul and Jason Baggott have already represented Eastern Province u19s. Eastern Province Country Districts Craven Week captain Sintu Manjezi who formed a dynamic lock pairing Tyler Paul, is the 4th Andrean, he boasts a good skillset and is a dominant figure in the lineouts. Using all 1.95m to good effect, he’s mobile and is an extra loose forward around the park.

 

There’s a school that’s flown under the radar this year which had a very good season, Cambridge High School have 3 lads coming to the Academy. Thembelihle Yase is a mobile loosehead prop who enjoyed a solid season for his school. He will be joined by Kweku Borsah, another mobile lock who could easily slot in at blindside, he has a really good work rate and has exceptional pace for a forward. Jason Reinecke had an impressive Craven Week at hooker for Border, although he played loose forward for his school, he will be primarily utilized at hooker for the Kings. Dale College adds to an already impressive contingent of Dalians at the Academy with 2 more loose forwards joining from Dale College. Qhama Mvimbi and Mihlali Nchukana played in the same loose trio and look to continue in the red and black hoops which are the traditional colours of Dale as well.

 

The numbers game comes to an end with the rest of the boys being the sole representatives of their schools. Luan Nieuwoudt is a player I’ve enjoyed since I watched him as an u16 for Eastern Province; he’s a player with massive potential and I look forward to following his progress. Somila Jho (older brother Ace Jho also at the Kings) is another very talented centre, great step and deceptive player, he has good pace as well.

 

Jason Vers captained Union High 1st XV this year and played Craven Week for Eastern Province at flyhalf. He varies his game really well and has a good tactical game, he’s got a natural attacking flair and is a headache for opposition defences when he’s on his game. Justin Hollis is another brilliant loose forward from Queen’s College, he can play at blindside or 8th man. His strength is unbelievable and he is dominant at the contact point. He’s a really good ball carrier and has a massive work rate on the park. He’ll thrive in the Kings setup. Malcolm Jaer is the only player to have represented SA u18 this year in this group; the hot stepping fullback who can slot in at flyhalf had a brilliant Craven Week for Eastern Province and the SA School’s cap was reward for excellent performances. He’ll be 1 of the leaders in the squad

(* represents Craven Week players)

 

Kings Academy u19 intake for 2014:

 

Props: Thembelihle Yase (Cambridge High School), David Murray*(St Andrew’s College), Matthew Jackson (Westville High School)


Hookers: Jason Reinecke* (Cambridge High School)


Locks: Tyler Paul* (St Andrew’s College), Sintu Manjezi* (St Andrew’s College), Gerrit Huisamen (Grey High School, PE),Kweku Borsah (Cambridge High School)


Loose Forwards: Mihlali Nchukana* (Dale College), QhamaMvimbi (Dale College), Cyril-John Velleman* (Grey High School, PE), Bathandwa Cafu* (Grey High School, PE), Justin Hollis* (Queen’s College)


Scrumhalves: Luke Houba (Rondebosch High School), NickBeswick (Grey High School, PE), Jason Baggott* (St Andrew’s College)


Flyhalves: Jason Vers* (Union High School)


Centres: Luan Nieuwoudt* (Nico Malan), Somila Jho* (Kingswood College)


Back 3: Thabani Mgugudo* (Grey High School, PE), Malcolm Jaer* (Die Brandwag)



Ludumo Nkabi - follow on twitter @ludz19






 


Saturday 19 October 2013

Kings u21 to play promo/relegation

Robbi Kempson’s men successfully defended the u21 B Division title last week against Boland u21s at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit. The men from Port Elizabeth didn’t have it all their way despite the score line of 59-19 reflecting a rather one sided affair.

The Kings struggled in the 1st half only leading 15-9 at the half way stage, they hit their straps in the 2nd half and produced a good showing, Kuhle Sonkosi particularly a prominent figure, the big man was tireless and would’ve reflected back on a good game. A number of the u21 lads will know what is expected having played here last year and lost narrowly in the same promotion game, the Kings lost 21-15 in a mud bath where the conditions were terrible and not condusive to the Kings game plan on the day.

Robbi Kempson named a strong side with a few changes for the important game. The forward pack is reshuffled for the game, Vukile Sofisa shifts back to loosehead prop following an ankle injury to Brendan Olivier last week. Dane will continue to captain the side from the middle of the front row at hooker. Pieter Stemmet comes back into the starting XV after a few weeks on the bench, he’ll start at tighthead. Kuhle Sonkosi is at 4 in the enforcer role and will be combining with Stefan Willemse who comes in for his 1st appearance of the season for the u21s. Willemse is an impressive physical specimen who will bring good height and bulk to the 2nd row; the former Paarl Gymnasium scholar had a very good season with the senior side and will look to bring good experience in the u21 side. Wayvern Smith is retained at openside flank while Claude Tshibidi will scrum down on the blindside flank, Kevin Kaba gets an opportunity to show what he can do at 8 in Aidon Davis’ absence after a knee injury in last week. The Queen’s College old boy played most of his final year at school in the no.8 jersey and will look to put in an impressive performance.

Dane, Wayvern, Vukile and Kuhle all played in last year’s promo-relegation game.  

The backline has fewer changes with Ace Jho coming in on the left wing for Sphu Msutwana whose problematic hamstring has caught up with him again. The rest of the backline is unchanged with Ivan Ludick and Ruan Allerston continuing as the halfback pairing. Shane Gates will play at inside centre and his experience will be very important in a game of such importance, he links up with Marlou van Niekerk in the centres to form a very good centre pairing. Jho is joined by constant figures in the no.14 and no.15 jerseys in Eben Barnard and Shakes Soyizwapi respectively. This forms a very potent back 3 boasting pace, flair, power and guile and should prove a handful for any side to look after.

Shakes, Eben, Marlou all played in last year’s promo-relegation game.  

The bench sees the return of Encoh Mnyaka to the 22 who hasn’t played since the early rounds to cover prop, the big front rower had an impressive start to his Kings career having already tasted senior action this season. Ruan Roberts cover the hooker from the bench. Brendan Hector also comes in for Stefan Zaayman who had to have stitches after coming off the bench last week in the final. Siphesihle Punguzwa is covering the loose forwards. Magic Majola who had a good cameo off the bench last week will continue to provide cover for scrumhalf, Gavin Hauptfleisch is covering 10 from the bench while young Jaco Bernardo (younger brother of Kings Super Rugby lock, Rynier Bernardo) comes into the match day 22 for the 1st time, the former Framesby inside centre will look to make an impact off the bench on his debut.

Good luck to Robbi, Stick and the lads, last year we fell at the final hurdle, let’s leap over this one with aplomb, best of luck #KingsArmy      

Kings u21:

15: Siviwe Soyizwapi (Dale College)
14: Eben Barnard (Brandwag)
13: Marlou van Niekerk (Marlow Landbou)
12: Shane Gates (Muir College)
11: Andile Jho (Dale College)
10: Ruan Allerston (Port Natal)
09: Ivan Ludick (Oakdale Landbou)
08: Kevin Kaba (Queen’s College)
07: Claude Tshibidi (Potch Boys’ High School)
06: Wayvern Smith (Brandwag)
05: Stefan Willemse (Paarl Gymnasium) 04: Kuhle Sonkosi (Westering High School)
03: Pieter Stemmet (Paul Roos Gymnasium)
02: Dane van der Westhuyzen (St Andrew’s College)
01: Vukile Sofisa (Grey High School, PE)  
Reserves:

16: Ruan Roberts (Daniel Pienaar)
17: Enoch Mnyaka (Dale College)
18: Brendan Hector (Union High School) 19: Siphesihle Punguzwa (Selborne College)
20: Sonwabo Majola (Muir College)
21: Gavin Hauptfleisch (Boishaai)
22: Jaco Bernardo (Framesby High School)  

HEAD COACH: Robbie Kempson ASSISTANT COACH: Mzwandile Stick

Ludumo Nkabi - follow on twitter @ludz19

Kings u19 to play Bulldogs in promotion/relegation

In what was a high scoring affair, the Eastern Province u19 side won the ABSA u19 B Division Competition last week against what was up until that point an unbeaten Valke u19 side. They put 56 points on the board, but would’ve been disappointed with their defensive efforts as they allowed the Valke to score 40 points. 


Upon chatting with a couple of lads it seems it was a case of Kings scoring and then the Valke replying immediately, it carried on in this manner until the Kings took it away in the end. That being said the Kings u19s were particularly in fine form on attack with both Selvyn Davids and Khaya Malotana grabbing a hat-trick of tries each. Selvyn being the MVP on the day with 5 conversions and 2 penalties added to his hattrick to take him to a tally of 31 points contributed. 


The Kings won and deservedly qualified for the u19 promotion / relegation game against Border, who they will take on today. Border might have lost all their games, but they are tough side to beat at the BCM Stadium and will have learnt a great deal from their 1st year in the ABSA u19 A Division Competition. The Kings will need to be on their A game today to emerge victorious in a tough encounter away from home. Coaches, Ryan Felix and Rory Duncan named a side with only 1 injury enforced change showing good continuity.  

 

The front row remains unchanged this week as well with St Andrew’s scholar David Murray continuing at loosehead prop. Grey boy JP Jamieson continues at hooker while Matthew Moore will pack down at tighthead prop. Stephan Ebersohn and Gerrit Huisamen have matured into a very good lock pairing, both for Grey and the Kings u19 side and will look to end their final game as a combination on a high by putting in the hard yards in the engine room. John Henry Schmitt is on the openside flanker while big Tyler Paul will pack down on the blindside flank. Erwin Slabbert who along with captain Mathew has played every single game this season completes the loose trio as he’ll line up at no.8. The forward unit is thus unchanged.

 

The backline which was responsible for most of the damage last week from a scoring point of view is also unchanged. Jason Baggott continues at scrumhalf and will form the halfback combination with Alex Banfield who will be entrusted with the no.10 jersey. Luan Nieuwoudt who had a few good breaks last week and linked up well with his outside backs starts again at 12 this week, Selyvn Davids will combine with Luan in the centres and the 2 Nico Malan boys who’ve enjoyed a good season as a combination for both school and province will also want to end their season as a combo on a good note. The back 3 is also unchanged with Sherwin Slater on the left wing, Sergeal continues with his stint with the u19s, a stint he told me in particular that he is enjoying, just playing with his mates and guys his age. Last week’s 3 try hero Khaya Malotana completes the back 3 and he’ll start at fullback for the 10th consecutive game this season making him the only backline player to play in all the games.

 

The 1 change on the bench is Mitchell Turner who comes in for Warren Swarts who was concussed last week. The rest of the bench remains the same, with former Pearson boy Jonathan deputising at hooker for JP Jamieson. Smija Qinelais covering loosehead and Kingswood tighthead prop Mvelo Khumalo completes the front row cover. Bathandwa Cafu is in the no.18 jersey and will primarily cover lock and loose forward while Dewald Meyer will also be deputising for the loose forwards. Francois Nel is covering scrumhalf while Mitchell Turner is a good flyhalf in the no.21 jersey. St Andrew’s schoolboy Ethan Fortuin rounds up the bench with the speed merchant covering outside centre and the back 3.

 

I spoke to Matty to get his finals words ahead of what is possibly their most important game of their season, “It means a lot to our team to play in this game because we know the union and the supporters are behind us, we want to make EP Rugby great again and back to the top, because they’re fighting for us to playing in the senior A division, so we junior sides also want do our part and play in the A Division.” He added, “It’s going to be tough tomorrow with the rain, but we’re up for it. It won’t be easy, but we’ll put everything into winning tomorrow.”

 

Matthew had the final word; all I can say from our side as Kings Supporters is good luck to the coaches and the men who will run out in the black and red tomorrow!!!

 

Kings u19:

 

15: Khaya Malotana (Queen’s College)

14: Sergeal Petersen (Grey High School, PE)

13: Selvyn Davids (Nico Malan)

12: Luan Nieuwoudt (Nico Malan)

11: Sherwin Slater (Andrew Rabie High School)

10: Alex Banfield (Grey High School, PE)

09: Jason Baggott (St Andrew’s College)

08: Erwin Slabbert (Framesby High School)

07: Tyler Paul (St Andrew’s College)

06:  John Henry Schmitt (Oudtshoorn High School)

05: Gerrit Huisamen (Grey High School, PE)

04: Stephan Ebersohn (Grey High School, PE

03: Matthew Moore © (Brandwag)

02: Jean Pierre Jamieson (Grey High School, PE)

01: David Murray (St Andrew’s College)


Reserves:

 

16: Jonathan Ford (Pearson High School)

17: Similile Qinela (Selborne College)

18: Bathandwa Cafu (Grey High School, PE)

19: Dewald Meyer (Otto du Plessis)

20: Francois Nel (Daniel Pienaar)

21: Mitchell Turner (Selborne College)

22: Ethan Fortuin (St Andrew’s College)

23: Mvelo Khumalo (Kingswood College)

HEAD COACH: Ryan Felix

ASSISTANT COACH: Rory Duncan

 


Ludumo Nkabi - follow on twitter @ludz19

 

Friday 18 October 2013

Kings u21 smash Boland in final

The EP Kings u21 side had a fantastic u21 season, easing through their group stages, smashing the Griffons in the semi final and topping it off with 9 unbeaten matches as this years ABSA Under 21 Champions.

The Kings played Boland at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit this past Friday. The opposition was no match for the Kings as they turned a 15 - 9 half time lead to a 59 - 19 final score, scoring 8 tries to 1.

Boland opened the scoring with two penalty kicks through Ashley Esau taking an early 6 - 0 lead. The Kings replyed with a penalty from Ruan Allerston and a try from flanker Cluade Tshidibi, the conversion was missed by Allerston as the Kings took the lead, 8 - 6. Allerston strethed the lead to 5 after he slotted a drop goal with 15 minutes to play till half time. Kings prop, Brendon Olivier, scored their second try with two minutes to go till half time, Allerston added the extra two. There was still enough time for Esau to kick a penalty as first half ended 15 - 9 in favour of the Kings.

The Kings and Boland exchanged penalties at the start of the second half with the Kings kicking two and Boland one. Boland struggled to keep the Kings at bay as they scored 5 unanswered tries, the first through lock Sonkosi Khune, conversion succseful by Allerston. Fullback Siviwe Soyizwape was next to cross the line for the Kings with another successful kick from Allerston. Kings scrumhalf, Ivan Luddick, scored his teams 5th try as the game reached the final quarter, Marlou van Niekerk was unable to add the extra two. Right wing Siphumelele Msutwana ran in his first try of the match with van Niekerk adding the extra two.

The last ten minutes saw three tries scored, two by the Kings and one by Boland. Reserve loose forward, Siphesihle Punguzwa, added his name to the score sheet, with Gavin Hauptfleisch adding the extra two for the Kings. Boland however did manage to score a consolation try through no8, Conway Pretorius, conversion was successful by Esau.

It was a fitting end to the match as Kings Captain, Dane van der Westhuyzen, scored his teams final try, his try was converted by Hauptfleisch, bringing the final score to 59 - 19.

The Kings u21 side will join the u19s in East London this weekend as both will play Border in a promotion / relegation match to gain A Division status for 2014.

Kings u19 too good for Valke in final

The EP Kings u19s are the new ABSA Under 19 Champions, after beating the Valke in their final on Friday. The Kings were 31 - 16 up at half time and outscored the Valke 8 tries to 4, to bring the final score to 56 - 40.

The Kings scored 4 first half tries, the first after just 3 minutes of play. Selvyn Davids scored his teams first try but was unable to convert, as the Kings took an early 5 - 0 lead. Matthys Venter kicked a penalty for the Valke to take the score to 5 - 3, but a try through Kings captain Matthew Moore and a successful conversion from Davids gave the Kings a 12 - 3 lead. Venters accurate boot kept the Valke in the game with a drop goal minutes later followed by a penalty kick, and a successful conversion after a Marthinus Ueckermann try, taking a 16 - 12 lead after 20 minutes.

The Kings shifted into another gear as they scored 3 tries in the last 7 minutes before the half time break. The first try came through fullback Khaya Malotana as he scored the first of his three tries, Davids added the extra two as the Kings regained a 19 - 16  lead. Davids crossed the line for his second try and stretched the lead even further after adding the extra two points. The Kings ended the first half with a try through right wing Sergeal Peterson, ending the half on 31 - 16 after Davids was unsuccessful with the conversion.

Jean-Claude van Zyl was the first to cross the line for the Valke in second half, Venter converted and the Valke closed the gap to 8 points, trailing 23 - 31. Davids  added another penalty to give the Kings an 11 point lead with 20 minutes to go. It was however the Valke that answered back with two converted tries, the first came trough Andries Schutte and the second scored by Francwa Ueckermann. Ueckermanns try was also converted by Venter as the Valke took the lead for the second time in the match. The Kings hit back immediately as Malotana scored his second try of the match, conversion was unsuccessful by Davids as the Kings regained the lead yet again, 41 - 37.

With 5 minutes to go the game was still far from over as Venter took 3 points back for the Valke through a drop goal and sneaked closer to the Kings score. It was however the last points the Valke scored as Molatana scored his third try for the Kings, Davids added the extra two and the game seemed pretty much over with four minutes to go. However for Davids there was still enough time to kick a penalty and convert his hat-trick try, which he scored in injury time, to bring his personal contribution to 31 points and to bring the final score to 56 - 40.

The Kings will play the Border Bulldogs this weekend in East London in a once off promotion / relegation match, as they hope to get A Division status for the 2014 season.

Friday 11 October 2013

EP Kings to face Boland in u21 final

The Eastern Province Kings u21 side put in what was probably their worst performance at home, last week against the Griquas u21 in their semi-final of  the u21 Currie Cup B Division Competition. If one had to put it simply, the Kings never even got out of 1st gear on the day and would’ve been disappointed with their performance. The mere fact that they still ran out 44-26 winners is indicative of the quality of this side. 


Wayvern Smith would’ve been particularly happy with his game after scoring 4 tries in the match. The openside flanker deservedly got the man of the match award for his try scoring exploits. The men from Kimberly must be given credit for taking the game to the Kings, they didn’t make things easy for the home side. Robbie Kempson’s men will need to be vastly improved in the final this week as they take on a very strong Boland u21 side at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit. They beat the Boland side in Wellington in the competition, but they will know that the result in the Western Cape counts for nothing when the 2 sides meet in the final. There is good continuity with only a few changes to the squad that contested the semi-final last week.

 

The vastly experienced Brendan Olivier will add his experience to the front row having already played a lot of senior rugby in the Currie Cup. Captain Dane van derWesthuyzen is at hooker and will bring energy in the front row. This will be his 2nd final with the Kings u21 side. Vukile Sofisa anchors the scrum at tighthead to complete an unchanged front row. The dynamic pair of Kevin Kaba and Kuhle Sonkosi is also retained in the 2nd row with both boasting great athleticism. Kevin Kaba will be entrusted with most of the lineout duties while Kuhle Sonkosi does the hard yards and brings some grunt in the tight exchanges. The 4 try hero, Wayvern Smith, will wear the no.6 jersey once again and will hope to prove an inspired selection once again for the Kings. Claude Tshibidi who’s got a great work rate will scrum down on the blinside flank. Aidon Davis who had a few promising runs last week continues at the back of the scrum.

 

The backs also enjoy good continuity with the only change in the backs coming at outside centre, with big Marlou van Niekerk back to bolster the side after sitting out last week’s game with a concussion. Marlou will run outside Shane Gates who will line up at inside centre as the duo form the centre pairing. Ivan Ludick is at scrumhalf and will look to provide flyhalf Zorba Allerston with good, quick ball as they look to get the backline away. They also named a balanced back 3 with the fleet footed Sphu Msutwana on the right wing complementing the big and strong Eben Barnard on the left wing, Shakes Soyizwapi completes the  back 3 and he’s the man with the flair at the back.

 

There are only 2 changes on the bench with Yakha dropping out of the 22 and Ruan Roberts coming in to deputise for Dane van der Westhuyzen having been out with injury for a few weeks. Ace Jho makes way for Marlou van Niekerk and takes his place on the bench, with Lonwabo Ntleki dropping out of the 22. Magic Majola and Gavin Hauptfleisch make up the rest of the back reserves. Pieter Stemmet will cover prop while Stefan Zaayman and Siphesihle Punguzwa cover the 2nd and back rows respectively.

 

I cornered Dane for a quick word ahead of the big game, this is what he had to say, “We just need a good start, stick to the game structure, stay disciplined and do everything to the best of our ability, if we do that I have no doubt that we will win.”

 

All the best to the defending champions for the big game today, the game kicks off at 16:15 and will be broadcast live on SuperSport 8.

 

EP Kings u21:

 

15: Siviwe Soyizwapi (Dale College)

14: Siphumelele Msutwana (Dale College)

13: Marlou van Niekerk (Marlow Landbou)

12: Shane Gates (Muir College)

11: Eben Barnard (Brandwag)

10: Ruan Allerston (Port Natal)

09: Ivan Ludick (Oakdale Landbou)

08: Aidon Davis (Daniel Pienaar)

07: Claude Tshidibi (Potch Boys’ High School)

06Wayvern Smith (Brandwag)

05: Kevin Kaba (Queen’s College)

04: Kuhle Sonkosi (Westering High School)

03: Vukile Sofisa (Grey High School, PE)

02: Dane van der Westhuyzen (St Andrew’s College)

01: Brendan Olivier (Nico Malan)

 

Reserves:


16: Ruan Roberts (Daniel Pienaar)

17: Pieter Stemmet (Paul Roos Gymnasium)

18: Stefan Zaayman (Framesby High School)

19: Siphesihle Punguzwa (Selborne College)

20: Sonwabo Majola (Muir College)

21: Andile Jho (Dale College)

22: Gavin Hauptfleisch (Boishaai)

 

HEAD COACH: Robbie Kempson

ASSISTANT COACH: Mzwandile Stick  

 


 Ludumo Nkabi - follow on twitter @ludz19

 

EP Kings u19s are ready for the final

Ryan Felix’s young u19 side travelled to Wellington for a very tough semi-final against Boland u19s. The game was always going to be tough with Port Elizabeth youngsters having already lost there in the league stages. Things this time were to be a little different, firstly, this time they were coming off a morale boosting victory away from home unlike when they went there on the back of a loss to SWD in Port Elizabeth. 


The return of Sergeal Petersen was also a timely boost as he justified his selection dotting down twice for the Kings as they recorded an impressive 45-30 victory to advance to the final. The backs scored all the tries with Khaya MolatanaSelvyn DavidsJuandre Fourie and Alex Banfield all adding 5 pointers of their own for a tally of 6 tries for the side. This for me is indicative of how well the pack must’ve done on the day. I’m sure Matt and his men did really well up front to ensure the backs ran in the tries


This week presents a new challenge with the men heading up to Nelspruit for the final against the unbeaten Valke u19s. It’s a daunting task for the men, but I understand there were a lot of positives taken from the narrow loss to Valke a few weeks ago at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. 


The coaches named a largely unchanged side for the final. The pack of forward will for the 1st time this season be unchanged, with the 8 starters from last week lining up exactly as they did last week. David Murray is on the loosehead side of the scrum with Jean Pierre Jamieson at hooker. Matthew Moore anchors the scrum at tighthead and will continue in his capacity as captain of the side. The Grey duo of Stephan Ebersohn and Gerrit Huisamen will complete the tight 5, coming in behind the front row as a combination in the 2nd row. They’ve proven to be a good combination with the more athletic Gerrit Huisamen assuming the lineout kingpin role and the bruising Stephan Ebersohn going about his role as the enforcer. John Henry Schmitt will wear the no.6 jersey and will hopefully provide the team with impetus at the breakdown. Tyler Paul continues on the blindside flank and he’ll be 1 of the primary ball carriers in the side. Erwin Slabbert rounds up the forwards at the back of the scrum.

 

The halfback combo is also unchanged with St Andrew’s scholar Jason Baggott in the no.9 jersey and Alex Banfield pulling the strings from flyhalf. The centres compromise of the Nico Malan duo of Luan Nieuwoudt at inside centre and the slippery Selvyn Davids, who has also taken over as the primary goal-kicker of the side, at 13. The 1 change in the starting XV comes in the back 3 with Juandre Fourie missing out due to an injury, Juandre along with fullback Khaya Malotana were the only 2 backline players to have started all the games. Juandre missing out this week means Khaya is the only backline player to have started all the games throughout the season, with Khaya at fullback and Sergeal on the right wing. Sherwin Slater is the man that comes in on the vacant left wing berth. The Andrew Rabie High former scholar has played mostly at outside centre, he’ll relish having a bit more space in which he can use his pace on the wing.

 

The bench is also largely unchanged with only Warren Swarts coming onto the bench for Sherwin Slater. Mvelo Khumalo retains his spot on the bench as the reserve tighthead prop with Smija Qinela covering loosehead. Jonathan Ford deputises for JP Jamieson. Bathandwa Cafu and Dewald Meyer continue as the utility forwards on the bench giving the coaches good options. Francois Nel is the reserve scrumhalf while Ethan Fortuin is the utility back covering a few positions from the bench.


I spoke to Matthew to get his thoughts on today’s big final, “There is a strong brotherhood in the team, we’re much closer now than we were at the beginning of the competition. There is a strong will to play in promotion relegation against Border.” “We’re up for it and when we go onto the field, it’s out of the coaches hands, we’re ready and we’ll do the job.”

 

It has all been said, all that’s left to say is good luck to Ryan, Rory and the boys in Nelspruit. The match kicks off at 14:20 at the Mbombela Stadium.  

 

Kings u19:

 

15: Khaya Malotana (Queen’s College)

14: Sergeal Petersen (Grey High School, PE)

13: Selvyn Davids (Nico Malan)

12: Luan Niewoudt (Nico Malan)

11: Sherwin Slater (Andrew Rabie High School)

10: Alex Banfield (Grey High School, PE)

09: Jason Baggott (St Andrew’s College)

08: Erwin Slabbert (Framesby High School)

07: Tyler Paul (St Andrew’s College)

06: JH Schmitt (Oudtshoorn High School)

05: Gerrit Huisamen (Grey High School, PE)

04: Stefan Ebersohn (Grey High School, PE)

03: Matthew Moore (Brandwag)

02: JP Jamieson (Grey High School, PE)

01: David Murray (St Andrew’s College)


Reserves:

 

16: Jonathan Ford (Pearson High School)

17: Similile Qinela (Selborne College)

18: Bathandwa Cafu (Grey High School)

19: Dewald Meyer (Otto du Plessis)

20: Francois Nel (Daniel Pienaar)

21: Ethan Fortuin (St Andrew’s College)

22: Warren Swarts (Stirling High School)

23: Mvelo Khumalo (Kingswood College)  

 

HEAD COACH: Ryan Felix

ASSISTANT COACH: Rory Duncan

 


Ludumo Nkabi - follow on twitter @ludz19