The Southern Kings were hugely disappointing in their match against the Hurricanes in Wellington this morning, not because of the 46 - 30 scoreline but in the way they let themselves down in crucial stages of the game.
The Hurricanes started off pretty much as the Crusaders last week, running everything at the Kings and looking to score as many tries as possible in 80 minutes. It took them just short of 3 minutes to score their first try through Ben May, converted by Beauden Barrett. The Hurricanes managed to score a further 5 tries, with Barrett adding 16 points through 5 conversions and 2 penalties.
It was again up to the reliable boot of Demetri Catrakilis as he has done in every game to keep the Kings in the contest. The Kings however did score 3 of their own tries through Steven Sykes, Ronnie Cooke and Hannes Franklin.
Sykes had he big smile on his face when he dotted down the first of the Kings 3 tries, realising its probably the easiest try he will ever score. The Kings were on the Hurricanes try line when someone left the gate wide open for Sykes to stroll in for his first try in a Kings jersey.
Cooke was on the receiving end after a good back line move. The ball went through a couple of hands, he received the final pass from Jacques Engelbrecht to go over in the corner for his teams second try.
Hannes Franklin was rewarded with his first try in his first Super Rugby match for the Kings. Franklin who returned to the playing field after injuring his knee before the start of the Super Rugby season came on off the bench after he replaced Bandise Maku in the second half.
The Hurricanes had too much momentum in the contact situation and gained 5 to 10 meters at every tackle, the Kings need to be more aggressive when they making those tackles, something they did very well in their first two matches against the Force and the Sharks.
They lost a few line outs due to not throwing straight, something you cant afford to do at this level. They looked good with the pick and drive and setting up phases but they need the forwards to clean quicker ball to get to the backline, an area where the Brumbies could dominate next weekend.
Another area they need to work on is to keep more ball, something Alan Solomons and Matt Sexton mentioned in the last two games. They give possession away too easy through kicks where they should rather back themselves and run at the opposition.
There is nothing wrong with kicking a ball into your opponents 22 to set up a line out to put the pressure back on them, that is essentially where you want to play, but senseless grubbers and up and unders with no real plan is not good enough. This is unfortunately not only the Kings but we see it too often from all our South African sides.
There were a few players that put their hands up this morning, both Steven Sykes and Andries Strauss had big games and Demetri Catrakilis had another good kicking game, but the player that impressed me the most was Ronnie Cooke. Cooke is growing in confidence with every game, he is backing himself with ball in hand and his defense is rock solid in the mid field. It was also great to see him score a try for all his hard work.
The Kings let themselves down tonight, they should have done more at the start of the second half when the Hurricanes lost a bit of concentration. Their defense is not as aggressive as it should be and they should back themselves with ball in hand, rather make mistakes when trying to do something then to make mistakes without trying.
Maybe i'm expecting too much of the Kings too soon, but they have the potential to be more then just a poor side replacing another poor side.
Saturday 30 March 2013
Thursday 28 March 2013
Super Rugby: SA teams
South African rugby fans will enjoy two morning and two evening games when Super Rugby Saturday kicks off this weekend.
Hurricanes v Kings
The Kings are up first against the Hurricanes in Wellington. The Kings have surprised a few of their critics with a first round win over the Western Force 22 - 10, narrow losses against the Sharks 21 - 12, 35 - 24 against the Chiefs and a 55 - 20 lose against Crusaders in their first tour game. Kings are currently 5th in the South African conference and 14th overall.
Kick off: 5:35 am (SA time)
It will be the first time these two teams meet in Super Rugby.
Venue : Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Southern Kings
Schalk Ferreira , Bandise Maku , Kevin Buys , Steven Sykes (VC) , David Bulbring , Devin Oosthuizen , Wimpie van der Walt , Jacques Engelbrecht , Shaun Venter , Demetri Catrakilis , Marcello Sampson , Andries Strauss (C) , Ronnie Cooke , Sergeal Petersen , George Whitehead
Replacements : Hannes Franklin, Grant Kemp, Rynier Bernardo , Daniel Adongo , Nicolas Vergallo , Waylon Murray , Hadleigh Parkes
Brumbies v Bulls
The second game of the morning will be between the Bulls and the Brumbies in Canberra. The Bulls enjoyed two home wins against the Stormers 25 - 17 and a 36 - 26 win against the Force. They recorded an away win against the Blues in their first tour game 28 - 21, but went down 41 - 19 against Crusaders and a narrow 21 - 18 lose against the Reds. The Bulls are currently 2nd in the South African conference and 7th overall.
Kick off: 10:40 am (SA time)
Average score: Brumbies 32 Bulls 27
Previous results
2012 Brumbies v Bulls 34-36 Pretoria
2010 Brumbies v Bulls 32-50 Pretoria
2009 Brumbies v Bulls 32-31 Canberra
2008 Brumbies v Bulls 17-28 Pretoria
2007 Brumbies v Bulls 7-19 Canberra
Bulls and Brumbies have played each other 14 times, Bulls have won 6 and lost 8.
Venue : Canberra Stadium, Canberra
Bulls
Morné Mellet, Chiliboy Ralepelle, Werner Kruger, Paul Willemse, Juandre Kruger, Deon Stegmann, Dewald Potgieter, Pierre Spies Jano Vermaak, Morne Steyn, Jurgen Visser, Jan Serfontein, JJ Engelbrecht, Lionel Mapoe, Zane Kirchner.
Replacements : Willie Wepener, Frik Kirsten, Wilhelm Steenkamp, Arno Botha, Ruan Snyman, Louis Fouche, Francois Venter.
Cheetahs v Rebels
The first game on South African soil will be between the Cheetahs and the Rebels in Bloemfontein. The Cheetahs went down against the Sharks in their first game at home 22 - 29. They left for their away leg the following day and faced the defending champions in their first tour game the following Saturday. The Chiefs were just to strong and the Cheetahs went down 45 - 3, but they turned it around with 3 wins from 4 games. They managed a 36 - 19 win against the Highlanders, 27 - 26 win against the Waratahs and finished of their tour with a 19 - 10 win against the Force. The Cheetahs are currently 4th in the South African conference and 9th overall.
Kick off: 5:05 pm (SA time)
Average score: Cheetahs 37 Rebels 24
Previous results
2012 Cheetahs v Rebels 33-26 Melbourne
2011 Cheetahs v Rebels 41-21 Bloemfontein
The Cheetahs and Rebels have played each other twice, Cheetahs winning both.
Venue : Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Cheetahs
Hennie Daniller, Willie le Roux, Johan Sadie, Robert Ebersohn, Raymond Rhule, Riaan Smit, Sarel Pretorius, Phillip van der Walt, Lappies Labuschagne, Heinrich Brussow, Francois Uys, Lood de Jager, Lourens Adriaanse, Adriaan Strauss (captain), Trevor Nyakane.
Replacements: Ryno Barnes, Coenie Oosthuisen, Rynhard Landman, Boom Prinsloo, Piet van Zyl, Burton Francis, Ryno Benjamin.
Stormers v Crusaders
The Stormers will round off Saturdays action when they face the Crusaders in Cape Town. The Stormers went down 25 - 17 against the Bulls at Loftus in their first game. In their second game they lost to last years runners up the Sharks at Kings Park, 12 - 6. Two home victories followed, a 36 - 34 win against the Chiefs and a 35 - 22 win against the Brumbies. The Stormers are currently 3rd in the South African conference and 8th overall.
Kick off : 7:05 pm (SA time)
Average score: Stormers 21 Crusaders 30
Previous results
2012 Stormers v Crusaders 24-31 Christchurch
2011 (Semi-final) Stormers v Crusaders 10-29 Cape Town
2011 Stormers v Crusaders 14-20 Cape Town
2010 Stormers v Crusaders 42-14 Cape Town
2009 Stormers v Crusaders 7-11 Christchurch
The Stormers and Crusaders have played each other 17 times, Stormers have won 4 and lost 13.
Venue : Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
Stormers
15. Joe Pietersen , 14. Gio Aplon , 13. Juan de Jongh , 12. Jean de Villiers (captain) , 11. Gerhard van den Heever , 10. Elton Jantjies , 9. Dewaldt Duvenage , 8. Duane Vermeulen (vice-captain) , 7. Rynhardt Elstadt , 6. Siya Kolisi , 5. Andries Bekker , 4. De Kock Steenkamp , 3. Frans Malherbe , 2. Deon Fourie , 1. Pat Cilliers
Reserves: , 16. Martin Bezuidenhout , 17. Brok Harris , 18. Don Armand , 19. Nizaam Carr , 20. Nic Groom , 21. Damian de Allende , 22. Jaco Taute
Hurricanes v Kings
The Kings are up first against the Hurricanes in Wellington. The Kings have surprised a few of their critics with a first round win over the Western Force 22 - 10, narrow losses against the Sharks 21 - 12, 35 - 24 against the Chiefs and a 55 - 20 lose against Crusaders in their first tour game. Kings are currently 5th in the South African conference and 14th overall.
Kick off: 5:35 am (SA time)
It will be the first time these two teams meet in Super Rugby.
Venue : Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Southern Kings
Schalk Ferreira , Bandise Maku , Kevin Buys , Steven Sykes (VC) , David Bulbring , Devin Oosthuizen , Wimpie van der Walt , Jacques Engelbrecht , Shaun Venter , Demetri Catrakilis , Marcello Sampson , Andries Strauss (C) , Ronnie Cooke , Sergeal Petersen , George Whitehead
Replacements : Hannes Franklin, Grant Kemp, Rynier Bernardo , Daniel Adongo , Nicolas Vergallo , Waylon Murray , Hadleigh Parkes
Brumbies v Bulls
The second game of the morning will be between the Bulls and the Brumbies in Canberra. The Bulls enjoyed two home wins against the Stormers 25 - 17 and a 36 - 26 win against the Force. They recorded an away win against the Blues in their first tour game 28 - 21, but went down 41 - 19 against Crusaders and a narrow 21 - 18 lose against the Reds. The Bulls are currently 2nd in the South African conference and 7th overall.
Kick off: 10:40 am (SA time)
Average score: Brumbies 32 Bulls 27
Previous results
2012 Brumbies v Bulls 34-36 Pretoria
2010 Brumbies v Bulls 32-50 Pretoria
2009 Brumbies v Bulls 32-31 Canberra
2008 Brumbies v Bulls 17-28 Pretoria
2007 Brumbies v Bulls 7-19 Canberra
Bulls and Brumbies have played each other 14 times, Bulls have won 6 and lost 8.
Venue : Canberra Stadium, Canberra
Bulls
Morné Mellet, Chiliboy Ralepelle, Werner Kruger, Paul Willemse, Juandre Kruger, Deon Stegmann, Dewald Potgieter, Pierre Spies Jano Vermaak, Morne Steyn, Jurgen Visser, Jan Serfontein, JJ Engelbrecht, Lionel Mapoe, Zane Kirchner.
Replacements : Willie Wepener, Frik Kirsten, Wilhelm Steenkamp, Arno Botha, Ruan Snyman, Louis Fouche, Francois Venter.
Cheetahs v Rebels
The first game on South African soil will be between the Cheetahs and the Rebels in Bloemfontein. The Cheetahs went down against the Sharks in their first game at home 22 - 29. They left for their away leg the following day and faced the defending champions in their first tour game the following Saturday. The Chiefs were just to strong and the Cheetahs went down 45 - 3, but they turned it around with 3 wins from 4 games. They managed a 36 - 19 win against the Highlanders, 27 - 26 win against the Waratahs and finished of their tour with a 19 - 10 win against the Force. The Cheetahs are currently 4th in the South African conference and 9th overall.
Kick off: 5:05 pm (SA time)
Average score: Cheetahs 37 Rebels 24
Previous results
2012 Cheetahs v Rebels 33-26 Melbourne
2011 Cheetahs v Rebels 41-21 Bloemfontein
The Cheetahs and Rebels have played each other twice, Cheetahs winning both.
Venue : Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Cheetahs
Hennie Daniller, Willie le Roux, Johan Sadie, Robert Ebersohn, Raymond Rhule, Riaan Smit, Sarel Pretorius, Phillip van der Walt, Lappies Labuschagne, Heinrich Brussow, Francois Uys, Lood de Jager, Lourens Adriaanse, Adriaan Strauss (captain), Trevor Nyakane.
Replacements: Ryno Barnes, Coenie Oosthuisen, Rynhard Landman, Boom Prinsloo, Piet van Zyl, Burton Francis, Ryno Benjamin.
Stormers v Crusaders
The Stormers will round off Saturdays action when they face the Crusaders in Cape Town. The Stormers went down 25 - 17 against the Bulls at Loftus in their first game. In their second game they lost to last years runners up the Sharks at Kings Park, 12 - 6. Two home victories followed, a 36 - 34 win against the Chiefs and a 35 - 22 win against the Brumbies. The Stormers are currently 3rd in the South African conference and 8th overall.
Kick off : 7:05 pm (SA time)
Average score: Stormers 21 Crusaders 30
Previous results
2012 Stormers v Crusaders 24-31 Christchurch
2011 (Semi-final) Stormers v Crusaders 10-29 Cape Town
2011 Stormers v Crusaders 14-20 Cape Town
2010 Stormers v Crusaders 42-14 Cape Town
2009 Stormers v Crusaders 7-11 Christchurch
The Stormers and Crusaders have played each other 17 times, Stormers have won 4 and lost 13.
Venue : Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
Stormers
15. Joe Pietersen , 14. Gio Aplon , 13. Juan de Jongh , 12. Jean de Villiers (captain) , 11. Gerhard van den Heever , 10. Elton Jantjies , 9. Dewaldt Duvenage , 8. Duane Vermeulen (vice-captain) , 7. Rynhardt Elstadt , 6. Siya Kolisi , 5. Andries Bekker , 4. De Kock Steenkamp , 3. Frans Malherbe , 2. Deon Fourie , 1. Pat Cilliers
Reserves: , 16. Martin Bezuidenhout , 17. Brok Harris , 18. Don Armand , 19. Nizaam Carr , 20. Nic Groom , 21. Damian de Allende , 22. Jaco Taute
Word from the Kings camp
The Southern Kings will play their second away game this weekend when they face the Hurricanes in Wellington on Saturday. The Hurricanes had a bye last weekend after a narrow 23 - 19 win over the Highlanders a fortnight ago.
Their previous games includes a 29 - 28 win over the Crusaders, they went down 18 - 12 in their second game against the Reds and a first round 34 - 20 lose to the Blues.
Looking ahead to their game this weekend Matt Sexton said the team had settled in and preparations are going well.
“We’ve done some previews and have been looking at the footage around the Hurricanes, so we can prepare ourselves for a great performance on Saturday,” he said.
The Kings need to retain better ball possession and tighten up on their defense, Crusaders gained a lot of momentum in the contact situation and the Kings cant afford to do the same against the Hurricanes.
“If we give them the same time and space and momentum as we did last weekend against the Crusaders it will be another long day. So we’ve been working pretty hard on making sure that doesn’t happen, as well as making sure that we hold onto the ball through phases.”
Southern Kings Director of Rugby, Alan Solomons, said the team will be led by Andries Strauss, who returns after recovering from a bruised AC joint, and will be joined by Steven Sykes, who has recovered from the knock he took during the Chiefs game and takes up the vice captaincy role.
“Apart from Andries the back line remains exactly the same. The bench is a little different because we’ve retained Waylon Murray on the bench,” he said.
Solomons also added that Hadleigh Parkes will give more option on the bench as he can slot in anywhere from 12 to 15, also the reason for Elric van Vuuren dropping out of the match day 22.
“Grant Kemp also comes onto the bench, with Daniel Adongo, who moves from the starting 15 onto the bench to make way for Sykes,” he said.
Hanness Franklin, who has recovered from his torn knee ligaments, also joins the team on the bench.
Cornell Du Preez will sit the game out due to a tight hamstring, with Devin Oosthuizen coming up in his place in the starting 15 and Rynier Bernardo coming onto the bench.
Their previous games includes a 29 - 28 win over the Crusaders, they went down 18 - 12 in their second game against the Reds and a first round 34 - 20 lose to the Blues.
Looking ahead to their game this weekend Matt Sexton said the team had settled in and preparations are going well.
“We’ve done some previews and have been looking at the footage around the Hurricanes, so we can prepare ourselves for a great performance on Saturday,” he said.
The Kings need to retain better ball possession and tighten up on their defense, Crusaders gained a lot of momentum in the contact situation and the Kings cant afford to do the same against the Hurricanes.
“If we give them the same time and space and momentum as we did last weekend against the Crusaders it will be another long day. So we’ve been working pretty hard on making sure that doesn’t happen, as well as making sure that we hold onto the ball through phases.”
Southern Kings Director of Rugby, Alan Solomons, said the team will be led by Andries Strauss, who returns after recovering from a bruised AC joint, and will be joined by Steven Sykes, who has recovered from the knock he took during the Chiefs game and takes up the vice captaincy role.
“Apart from Andries the back line remains exactly the same. The bench is a little different because we’ve retained Waylon Murray on the bench,” he said.
Solomons also added that Hadleigh Parkes will give more option on the bench as he can slot in anywhere from 12 to 15, also the reason for Elric van Vuuren dropping out of the match day 22.
“Grant Kemp also comes onto the bench, with Daniel Adongo, who moves from the starting 15 onto the bench to make way for Sykes,” he said.
Hanness Franklin, who has recovered from his torn knee ligaments, also joins the team on the bench.
Cornell Du Preez will sit the game out due to a tight hamstring, with Devin Oosthuizen coming up in his place in the starting 15 and Rynier Bernardo coming onto the bench.
Southern Kings team to face Hurricanes
The Southern Kings named their team to take on the Hurricanes this coming Saturday at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington.
Good news for the Kings is that we see the return of Andries Strauss at inside center with Hadleigh Parkes shifting back to the bench. Strauss will also be taking over the captaincy role from Schalk Ferreira, who captained the side against the Crusaders. Daniel Adongo is also returning to the bench to make way for Steven Sykes, Sykes will also be vice captain for Saturday's game. Hannes Franklin will also make a welcoming return with Edgar Marutlulle falling out of the match day 22.
Devin Oosthuizen will come in at no 6 for Cornell du Preez who is still battling with a tight hamstring.
Southern Kings:
15 George Whitehead 14 Sergeal Petersen 13 Ronnie Cooke 12 Andries Strauss (c) 11 Marcello Sampson 10 Demetri Catrakilis 9 Shaun Venter 8 Jacques Engelbrecht 7 Wimpie van der Walt 6 Devin Oostuizen 5 David Bulbring 4 Steven Sykes (vc) 3 Kevin Buys 2 Bandisa Maku 1 Schalk Ferreira
Reserves:
16 Hannes Franklin 17 Grant Kemp 18 Rynier Bernardo 19 Daniel Adongo 20 Nicolas Vergallo 21 Waylon Murray 22 Hadleigh Parkes
Good news for the Kings is that we see the return of Andries Strauss at inside center with Hadleigh Parkes shifting back to the bench. Strauss will also be taking over the captaincy role from Schalk Ferreira, who captained the side against the Crusaders. Daniel Adongo is also returning to the bench to make way for Steven Sykes, Sykes will also be vice captain for Saturday's game. Hannes Franklin will also make a welcoming return with Edgar Marutlulle falling out of the match day 22.
Devin Oosthuizen will come in at no 6 for Cornell du Preez who is still battling with a tight hamstring.
Southern Kings:
15 George Whitehead 14 Sergeal Petersen 13 Ronnie Cooke 12 Andries Strauss (c) 11 Marcello Sampson 10 Demetri Catrakilis 9 Shaun Venter 8 Jacques Engelbrecht 7 Wimpie van der Walt 6 Devin Oostuizen 5 David Bulbring 4 Steven Sykes (vc) 3 Kevin Buys 2 Bandisa Maku 1 Schalk Ferreira
Reserves:
16 Hannes Franklin 17 Grant Kemp 18 Rynier Bernardo 19 Daniel Adongo 20 Nicolas Vergallo 21 Waylon Murray 22 Hadleigh Parkes
Tuesday 26 March 2013
Kings stats vs Crusaders
The Southern Kings suffered their first big lose of the season when they went down 55 - 20 to seven times Super Rugby Champions Crusaders. The Kings have done relatively well in their 3 previous games against the Force, runners up from last year the Sharks and 2012 champions the Chiefs.
Looking at the game from Saturday Wimpie van der Walt and George Whitehead scored the tries for the Kings. Van der Walt scored his on the half time hooter converted by Demetri Catrakilis and George Whitehead had the last say in the game when he went over for the Kings second try, he also converted the try. Catrakilis were also successful with 2 penalty kicks, only missing a 43 meter kick.
Both teams kicked the same amount of times, 14 a piece but Crusaders did more attacking with their 51% possession. They ran 864 meters compared to the Kings 307 meters, which means the Kings had to make 230 tackles with an 80% success rate with Crusaders only successful with 78% of their 92 tackles.
The Kings back 3 did most of the running with Whitehead 53 meters, Sergeal Petersen 33 meters and Marcello Sampson with 29 meters. Among the forwards Engelbrecht did the most meters from 9 runs with 68 in total. He also joined 7 rucks and mauls, forced 1 turnover and had 1 line break. One area of his game he would not be proud of will be his defense, he missed 6 out of 16 attempts.
Bandise Maku were successful with all of his 8 tackles. Whitehead was as solid as a rock with 7 from 7 as well as young Rynier Bernardo landed all of his 11 attempts. Waylon Murray who returned to Super Rugby after his injury were successful with 6 from 6. Ronnie Cook made the most tackles but missed 3 out of his 21 attempts.
The Kings might have slipped up on defense and their handling let them down on most occasions but one thing that stood out was their play till the end attitude and they were rewarded with 2 tries for their efforts.
Looking at the game from Saturday Wimpie van der Walt and George Whitehead scored the tries for the Kings. Van der Walt scored his on the half time hooter converted by Demetri Catrakilis and George Whitehead had the last say in the game when he went over for the Kings second try, he also converted the try. Catrakilis were also successful with 2 penalty kicks, only missing a 43 meter kick.
Both teams kicked the same amount of times, 14 a piece but Crusaders did more attacking with their 51% possession. They ran 864 meters compared to the Kings 307 meters, which means the Kings had to make 230 tackles with an 80% success rate with Crusaders only successful with 78% of their 92 tackles.
The Kings back 3 did most of the running with Whitehead 53 meters, Sergeal Petersen 33 meters and Marcello Sampson with 29 meters. Among the forwards Engelbrecht did the most meters from 9 runs with 68 in total. He also joined 7 rucks and mauls, forced 1 turnover and had 1 line break. One area of his game he would not be proud of will be his defense, he missed 6 out of 16 attempts.
Bandise Maku were successful with all of his 8 tackles. Whitehead was as solid as a rock with 7 from 7 as well as young Rynier Bernardo landed all of his 11 attempts. Waylon Murray who returned to Super Rugby after his injury were successful with 6 from 6. Ronnie Cook made the most tackles but missed 3 out of his 21 attempts.
The Kings might have slipped up on defense and their handling let them down on most occasions but one thing that stood out was their play till the end attitude and they were rewarded with 2 tries for their efforts.
Sunday 24 March 2013
Kings played with heart and character.
The Southern Kings went down 55 points to 20 in their match against Crusaders in Christchurch on Saturday. It was the Kings first match away from their fanatic Port Elizabeth crowd and also their first overseas game.
The Crusaders simply outclassed the Kings in every area of the game, and the Kings struggled to defend the attacking wave after wave from the 7 times Super Rugby Champions. The Kings had some moments with ball in hand but on a night where their handling let them down they caused no threat to the Crusaders.
“The guys played bravely. The Crusaders are a very good side. They have five guys in their starting fifteen that are All Blacks, playing guys like (Daniel) Carter and (Kieran) Read who are probably the best in their positions in the world, and (George) Whitelock is pretty close to that, as is (Owen) Franks,” said Director of Rugby Alan Solomons.
“So you know, we were up against it and I thought the guys did really, really well. Obviously it was made difficult by the travel, but we’re not making any excuses about it,” he said.
Solomons was happy with the Kings effort that they have put in and playing for 80 minutes.
“We stuck to the task and at the end of both halves we got a try and I think the guys have learnt a massive amount in playing in consecutive weeks probably the entire, or close to all of the All Black side. A lot of experience was gained, and we must just take this forward now and obviously we’re settling in and look forward to the Hurricanes game next week,” he said.
Matt Sexton, Head Coach of the Kings, also added: “I think we got a little bit of a lesson in possession, momentum and a couple of other things, but in saying that though the one pleasing aspect of the game was again the character shown by the boys."
“They certainly put on an 80 minute performance; they played with heart and character.”
“It was a truly international team that we came up against and they were pretty hungry to get four points and put us to the sword, so to speak. It was a tough game and we’ve had a bit of a disruptive week obviously, with things, but no excuses."
Sexton also had lots of praise for the conditioning team and getting the guys to perform like they have since the start of the competition.
“A lot of credit has to go to our conditioning team, Johan (Pretorius) and Steve (McIntyre), who prepared the guys fantastically well, they were still going in their 80th minute after all the travel and stuff that we’ve had,” he said.
Crusaders were scoring at a point a minute in the first half and it seemed like the Kings did not have enough players on the field to defend against them. The Kings did look better towards the end of the game after Crusaders made a few changes to their run on 15.
“We shut them down a little bit quicker in the second half but I think one of our biggest problems we had in the game, was we turned over too much ball."
“There was just far too much, both from general play and we turned over a few from set piece... but general play we just turned over too much ball. And when you turn over the ball, you just don’t have it for ten minutes. So that was a valuable lesson to be learnt."
“The things we have to work on is the value of possession. We have to cut our error rate,” Solomons said.
The Kings will have no real injury concerns has they prepare for their next match against the Hurricanes and might just have Steven Sykes and Andries Srauss back, as their experience were surely missed on Saturday.
The Crusaders simply outclassed the Kings in every area of the game, and the Kings struggled to defend the attacking wave after wave from the 7 times Super Rugby Champions. The Kings had some moments with ball in hand but on a night where their handling let them down they caused no threat to the Crusaders.
“The guys played bravely. The Crusaders are a very good side. They have five guys in their starting fifteen that are All Blacks, playing guys like (Daniel) Carter and (Kieran) Read who are probably the best in their positions in the world, and (George) Whitelock is pretty close to that, as is (Owen) Franks,” said Director of Rugby Alan Solomons.
“So you know, we were up against it and I thought the guys did really, really well. Obviously it was made difficult by the travel, but we’re not making any excuses about it,” he said.
Solomons was happy with the Kings effort that they have put in and playing for 80 minutes.
“We stuck to the task and at the end of both halves we got a try and I think the guys have learnt a massive amount in playing in consecutive weeks probably the entire, or close to all of the All Black side. A lot of experience was gained, and we must just take this forward now and obviously we’re settling in and look forward to the Hurricanes game next week,” he said.
Matt Sexton, Head Coach of the Kings, also added: “I think we got a little bit of a lesson in possession, momentum and a couple of other things, but in saying that though the one pleasing aspect of the game was again the character shown by the boys."
“They certainly put on an 80 minute performance; they played with heart and character.”
“It was a truly international team that we came up against and they were pretty hungry to get four points and put us to the sword, so to speak. It was a tough game and we’ve had a bit of a disruptive week obviously, with things, but no excuses."
Sexton also had lots of praise for the conditioning team and getting the guys to perform like they have since the start of the competition.
“A lot of credit has to go to our conditioning team, Johan (Pretorius) and Steve (McIntyre), who prepared the guys fantastically well, they were still going in their 80th minute after all the travel and stuff that we’ve had,” he said.
Crusaders were scoring at a point a minute in the first half and it seemed like the Kings did not have enough players on the field to defend against them. The Kings did look better towards the end of the game after Crusaders made a few changes to their run on 15.
“We shut them down a little bit quicker in the second half but I think one of our biggest problems we had in the game, was we turned over too much ball."
“There was just far too much, both from general play and we turned over a few from set piece... but general play we just turned over too much ball. And when you turn over the ball, you just don’t have it for ten minutes. So that was a valuable lesson to be learnt."
“The things we have to work on is the value of possession. We have to cut our error rate,” Solomons said.
The Kings will have no real injury concerns has they prepare for their next match against the Hurricanes and might just have Steven Sykes and Andries Srauss back, as their experience were surely missed on Saturday.
Dibaz to back their Boytjies.
The NMMU Madibaz have reached the semi final of this years Varsity Cup and will face Maties in Stellenbosch tonight.
Madibaz who played Maties in their 3rd match of the tournament looked strong to pull off another up set after drawing their first match against UCT in Cape Town. The score was tied at 8 all late in the second half. The team from Port Elizabeth was in a good position and full of confidence, but after some sloppy play pushed them back inside their 22 the referee awarded a scrum to Maties which they turned into a try in the corner to take a 13 - 8 lead.
With time running out Madibaz threw everything at them and managed to get a penalty to set up a line out close to Maties 22. Through strong forward play Madibaz managed to get close to the Maties try line but they were defending with everything they had. In the end a bit of over eagerness cost Madibaz the game and the final score stayed at 13 - 8 in favour of Maties.
This time round Madibaz will face Maties with 240 of their own Dibaz who traveled overnight to Stellenbosch to show their support when the two teams clash tonight.
“We couldn’t let our team go to the University of Stellenbosch without support. It’s the support of the Dibaz fans that has helped the team to its most successful Varsity Cup campaign to date,” said NMMU online community manager Beverley Erickson.
“The support we have received from our fans has been incredible. It’s great to know that some of them will be at the game in Stellenbosch,” said Madibaz coach Brent Janse van Rensburg, whose team will fly to Cape Town early on Sunday morning.
Madibaz were outstanding at home this year and won all their games. Victories at home includes Wits (24 – 16), Shimlas (14 – 10), University of Johannesburg (20 – 13) and Tukkies (13 – 7).
Away from home, they drew against UCT (5 – 5), and narrowly lost to both Pukke (39 – 36) and Maties (13 – 8).
Kick off will be at 7pm and the game will be televised on Super Sport.
Madibaz who played Maties in their 3rd match of the tournament looked strong to pull off another up set after drawing their first match against UCT in Cape Town. The score was tied at 8 all late in the second half. The team from Port Elizabeth was in a good position and full of confidence, but after some sloppy play pushed them back inside their 22 the referee awarded a scrum to Maties which they turned into a try in the corner to take a 13 - 8 lead.
With time running out Madibaz threw everything at them and managed to get a penalty to set up a line out close to Maties 22. Through strong forward play Madibaz managed to get close to the Maties try line but they were defending with everything they had. In the end a bit of over eagerness cost Madibaz the game and the final score stayed at 13 - 8 in favour of Maties.
This time round Madibaz will face Maties with 240 of their own Dibaz who traveled overnight to Stellenbosch to show their support when the two teams clash tonight.
“We couldn’t let our team go to the University of Stellenbosch without support. It’s the support of the Dibaz fans that has helped the team to its most successful Varsity Cup campaign to date,” said NMMU online community manager Beverley Erickson.
“The support we have received from our fans has been incredible. It’s great to know that some of them will be at the game in Stellenbosch,” said Madibaz coach Brent Janse van Rensburg, whose team will fly to Cape Town early on Sunday morning.
Madibaz were outstanding at home this year and won all their games. Victories at home includes Wits (24 – 16), Shimlas (14 – 10), University of Johannesburg (20 – 13) and Tukkies (13 – 7).
Away from home, they drew against UCT (5 – 5), and narrowly lost to both Pukke (39 – 36) and Maties (13 – 8).
Kick off will be at 7pm and the game will be televised on Super Sport.
What's happening to rugby in the Eastern Cape?
"Eastern Province Rugby on the rise" and indeed they are, just look at how the EP Kings have been playing week in and week out in the First Division and also the Madibaz (NMMU) in the Varsity Cup. We also have two teams in the Community Cup in Despatch and African Bombers, and then there are the Southern Kings (EP Kings, Border and SWD Eagles) inclusion in arguably the worlds toughest provincial rugby competition.
EP Kings won the 1st Division in 2010 after loosing in the semi final the year before. They were runners up in 2011 when they lost to Boland, and regained the trophy in 2012 when they went unbeaten through the season only drawing their home and away games against the Pumas, the same team they managed to beat in the final.
Madibaz are building on their strong finish in last years Varsity Cup where they annihilated TUT Vikings in a 12 try thrashing with the final score 90-34, it was also Jaco Swanepoel's last game. He (Swanepoel) captained the side in 2011 and 2012 and was also rewarded Varsity Cup forward that rocks for 2012.
Swanepoel says that Varsity Cup is just getting better every year and it is really at a professional level if you take in account the conditioning, preparation for matches like post match analyses and the intensity of the games.
He also added;" it's by far the most organized competition that I've played in, I recommend any player that wants to compete at a higher level to start his career with the Varsity Cup. Varsity Cup is great"
Swanepoel is currently wearing the no8 jersey for Despatch in the Community Cup. He reckons the Community Cup will add new life to club rugby in the Eastern Cape, something new to play for. "Clubs in the Eastern Cape will get the opportunity to play against the best in the country, which will help to grow our rugby. There is suddenly a new interest in club rugby and it will help club rugby to reach new heights. It's a great competition and it will better our rugby in the Bay.
Despatch was included in the Community Cup which replaced the Club Champs in 2013 after finishing second on the log to NMMU. The Community Cup sees 20 of South Africa's top non varsity club teams battling it out in 52 matches across the country. The second team from Port Elizabeth or like they call it the "wild card" is African Bombers from Zwide, Evergreens represent SWD and Old Selbornians from Border. Another thing that makes the Community Cup unique is that there are no contracted players at provincial level in any of the club sides.
And then there is the BIG one, the Southern Kings playing in there debut season of Super Rugby. In the Southern Kings build up to their first game against the Western Force, I had the opportunity to catch up with Micheal Killian. Killian who left Eastern Province back in 2007 to pursue a career and it was a successful one with the Lions which included a Currie Cup trophy in 2011 decided to return to where it all started.
Killian was spotted in 2007 by the Lions when he was playing for NMMU.
Killian unfortunate broke his arm in practice and will be watching the first game from the stand, but he is hoping to be ready for the Sharks game on the 9th of March. Where some might be worried about the squad he says they have good depth in certain positions. On the "foreigners" he said they quite funny guys and especially a guy like Virgile Lacombe has no problem greeting you in Afrikaans and they've taken a liking to the language.
Killian spoke highly of their captain Luke Watson and regarded him a leader that inspires the team to lift their game. Watson is surly not a player they can afford to loose and in my opinion someone that will determine their success in the first year. Killian said they don't want to get ahead of themselves and will enter every game as a final. He also thinks they might have the element of surprise over certain teams, due to the fact that they a new team and there's little footage of them playing, but never down played the intensity of Super Rugby and the fact that they need to play 80min.
Another important thing Killian mentioned was the support and he said; "there is nothing worse then to play at an empty stadium". Definitely an area where we can help the team, get your tickets, your jerseys and flags and let's get to the stadium, they need the support and your support can help to lift their morale when they need it most. If you see the guys in public encourage them, an encouraging word goes a long way.
Southern Kings home fixtures:
23 Feb v Force
9 March v Sharks
15 March v Chiefs
20 April v Bulls
4 May v Waratahs
11 May v Highlanders
25 May v Cheetahs
6 July v Stormers
EP Kings won the 1st Division in 2010 after loosing in the semi final the year before. They were runners up in 2011 when they lost to Boland, and regained the trophy in 2012 when they went unbeaten through the season only drawing their home and away games against the Pumas, the same team they managed to beat in the final.
Madibaz are building on their strong finish in last years Varsity Cup where they annihilated TUT Vikings in a 12 try thrashing with the final score 90-34, it was also Jaco Swanepoel's last game. He (Swanepoel) captained the side in 2011 and 2012 and was also rewarded Varsity Cup forward that rocks for 2012.
Swanepoel says that Varsity Cup is just getting better every year and it is really at a professional level if you take in account the conditioning, preparation for matches like post match analyses and the intensity of the games.
He also added;" it's by far the most organized competition that I've played in, I recommend any player that wants to compete at a higher level to start his career with the Varsity Cup. Varsity Cup is great"
Swanepoel is currently wearing the no8 jersey for Despatch in the Community Cup. He reckons the Community Cup will add new life to club rugby in the Eastern Cape, something new to play for. "Clubs in the Eastern Cape will get the opportunity to play against the best in the country, which will help to grow our rugby. There is suddenly a new interest in club rugby and it will help club rugby to reach new heights. It's a great competition and it will better our rugby in the Bay.
Despatch was included in the Community Cup which replaced the Club Champs in 2013 after finishing second on the log to NMMU. The Community Cup sees 20 of South Africa's top non varsity club teams battling it out in 52 matches across the country. The second team from Port Elizabeth or like they call it the "wild card" is African Bombers from Zwide, Evergreens represent SWD and Old Selbornians from Border. Another thing that makes the Community Cup unique is that there are no contracted players at provincial level in any of the club sides.
And then there is the BIG one, the Southern Kings playing in there debut season of Super Rugby. In the Southern Kings build up to their first game against the Western Force, I had the opportunity to catch up with Micheal Killian. Killian who left Eastern Province back in 2007 to pursue a career and it was a successful one with the Lions which included a Currie Cup trophy in 2011 decided to return to where it all started.
Killian was spotted in 2007 by the Lions when he was playing for NMMU.
Killian unfortunate broke his arm in practice and will be watching the first game from the stand, but he is hoping to be ready for the Sharks game on the 9th of March. Where some might be worried about the squad he says they have good depth in certain positions. On the "foreigners" he said they quite funny guys and especially a guy like Virgile Lacombe has no problem greeting you in Afrikaans and they've taken a liking to the language.
Killian spoke highly of their captain Luke Watson and regarded him a leader that inspires the team to lift their game. Watson is surly not a player they can afford to loose and in my opinion someone that will determine their success in the first year. Killian said they don't want to get ahead of themselves and will enter every game as a final. He also thinks they might have the element of surprise over certain teams, due to the fact that they a new team and there's little footage of them playing, but never down played the intensity of Super Rugby and the fact that they need to play 80min.
Another important thing Killian mentioned was the support and he said; "there is nothing worse then to play at an empty stadium". Definitely an area where we can help the team, get your tickets, your jerseys and flags and let's get to the stadium, they need the support and your support can help to lift their morale when they need it most. If you see the guys in public encourage them, an encouraging word goes a long way.
Southern Kings home fixtures:
23 Feb v Force
9 March v Sharks
15 March v Chiefs
20 April v Bulls
4 May v Waratahs
11 May v Highlanders
25 May v Cheetahs
6 July v Stormers
Saturday 23 March 2013
Easy win for Crusaders
The Southern Kings kicked off their overseas tour against one of the toughest opponents in the competition. Kings playing their 4th Super Rugby game against 7 time Champions Crusaders in Christchurch, you don't get tougher then this.
Kings surprisingly scored the 1st points of the match through a Demetri Catrakilis penalty in the 2nd minute to take a 3 point lead. It did how ever not take Crusaders long to get points of their own after George Whitelock went in for his 1st try of the night, converted by Dan Carter 7 - 3.
Crusaders were rewarded a penalty 7 minutes later and Carter was happy to take the score to 10 - 3. Wyatt Crockett scored the second try and again converted by Carter took the score to 17 - 3. Thing were looking just a bit to easy for the Crusaders as the Kings struggled to fall back into position and defend the next onslaught.
Kings had an opportunity to bring the score within 9 but the penalty was missed from 40 meters out by Catrakilis. The Kings were led down by their defense in a high pace attacking game from Crusaders and their momentum was just too much for the Kings, gaining 5 to 10 meters at every tackle.
Kings managed to get into Crusaders 22 after a sneaky break by Catrakilis, he offloaded back inside and the Kings were 5 meters out but handling was a problem on the night and they lost the ball close to the line. They did however get a penalty for their troubles and Catrakilis brought the score to 17 - 6. Two more tries, Whitelock's second and the other from Willie Heinz took the score further away from the Kings, tries converted by Carter and Crusaders were scoring a point a minute, 31 - 6 after 30 minutes.
Close to the half time break the Kings were on attack and this time Whitehead found himself in the flyhalf position, he put a clever kick through deep inside the Crusaders 22, cover defense were pushed out and the Kings had a good attacking put in 5 meters out. The catch and drive resulted in a Wimpie van der Walt try just on the half time hooter, Catrakilis converted to end the 1st half on 31 - 13.
The second half started with a Carter penalty and a converted try by Matt Todd. Replacements Luke Whitelock and Tyler Bleyendaal added 7 more points stretching the score to 48 - 13.
Again the Kings looked promising on attack through a touchline run by Marcello Sampson but ended in disappointment after more poor handling by the Kings. Whitelock scored his 3rd try and pushed the Crusaders pass 50 points, his try was converted by Bleyendaal.
Crusaders were back inside the Kings 22 and looked like they could possibly score another try, but poor handling from their side and some good interplay by the Kings saw George Whitehead scoring one under the Crusaders post. He converted his own try just on full time to bring the score to 55 - 20.
The Kings could feel let down by their defense and poor handling at times. The score does not reflect a true story as Crusaders made some changes in the second half, but again the Kings never gave up and tried their utmost till the end.
The Kings are still learning and growing as a team and they were taught a rugby lesson by one of the best in the competition. The Kings can still hold their head high because on a night were their defense and hands let them down their fighting spirit carried on to the end.
Crusaders:
Tries: G Whitelock 3, Crockett, Heinz, Todd, L Whitelock
Cons: Carter 5, Bleyendaal 2
Pens: Carter 2
Southern Kings:
Tries: Van der Walt, Whitehead
Cons: Catrakilis, Whitehead
Pens: Catrakilis 2
Kings surprisingly scored the 1st points of the match through a Demetri Catrakilis penalty in the 2nd minute to take a 3 point lead. It did how ever not take Crusaders long to get points of their own after George Whitelock went in for his 1st try of the night, converted by Dan Carter 7 - 3.
Crusaders were rewarded a penalty 7 minutes later and Carter was happy to take the score to 10 - 3. Wyatt Crockett scored the second try and again converted by Carter took the score to 17 - 3. Thing were looking just a bit to easy for the Crusaders as the Kings struggled to fall back into position and defend the next onslaught.
Kings had an opportunity to bring the score within 9 but the penalty was missed from 40 meters out by Catrakilis. The Kings were led down by their defense in a high pace attacking game from Crusaders and their momentum was just too much for the Kings, gaining 5 to 10 meters at every tackle.
Kings managed to get into Crusaders 22 after a sneaky break by Catrakilis, he offloaded back inside and the Kings were 5 meters out but handling was a problem on the night and they lost the ball close to the line. They did however get a penalty for their troubles and Catrakilis brought the score to 17 - 6. Two more tries, Whitelock's second and the other from Willie Heinz took the score further away from the Kings, tries converted by Carter and Crusaders were scoring a point a minute, 31 - 6 after 30 minutes.
Close to the half time break the Kings were on attack and this time Whitehead found himself in the flyhalf position, he put a clever kick through deep inside the Crusaders 22, cover defense were pushed out and the Kings had a good attacking put in 5 meters out. The catch and drive resulted in a Wimpie van der Walt try just on the half time hooter, Catrakilis converted to end the 1st half on 31 - 13.
The second half started with a Carter penalty and a converted try by Matt Todd. Replacements Luke Whitelock and Tyler Bleyendaal added 7 more points stretching the score to 48 - 13.
Again the Kings looked promising on attack through a touchline run by Marcello Sampson but ended in disappointment after more poor handling by the Kings. Whitelock scored his 3rd try and pushed the Crusaders pass 50 points, his try was converted by Bleyendaal.
Crusaders were back inside the Kings 22 and looked like they could possibly score another try, but poor handling from their side and some good interplay by the Kings saw George Whitehead scoring one under the Crusaders post. He converted his own try just on full time to bring the score to 55 - 20.
The Kings could feel let down by their defense and poor handling at times. The score does not reflect a true story as Crusaders made some changes in the second half, but again the Kings never gave up and tried their utmost till the end.
The Kings are still learning and growing as a team and they were taught a rugby lesson by one of the best in the competition. The Kings can still hold their head high because on a night were their defense and hands let them down their fighting spirit carried on to the end.
Crusaders:
Tries: G Whitelock 3, Crockett, Heinz, Todd, L Whitelock
Cons: Carter 5, Bleyendaal 2
Pens: Carter 2
Southern Kings:
Tries: Van der Walt, Whitehead
Cons: Catrakilis, Whitehead
Pens: Catrakilis 2
Friday 22 March 2013
Will Kings pass the Crusaders test?
When the Southern Kings made history for being the first newly added team to win their opening game in the Super Rugby Competition in beating the Western Force by 22 - 10, it was said that the Sharks would be their first real test.
The Kings made it difficult for last years losing finalists and were still looking good to get a losing bonus point for their troubles, but a Patrick Lambie penalty in the last 10 minutes took that away from them, final score 12 - 22.
It did not get any easier as they played the 2012 champions the Chiefs the week after, and most said that this would be their first real test (i thought that was the Sharks) and some suggested a difference of 50+ points. The Chiefs started off running every ball and was surely out to proof a point. The Kings once again proof their critics wrong. The Chiefs did manage to score 4 tries but the Kings were also scoring points at every opportunity, and as in the Sharks game the Chiefs had to kick one final penalty to take it away from the Kings, final score 35 - 24.
This weekend the Kings will face the Crusaders in Christchurch and in my opinion this will be their first real test. Crusaders being the team that played in the most Super Rugby (S12, S14,S15) finals, 10 in total and winning 7 out of 10 is a tremendous achievement in itself. The Crusaders have a good number of All Blacks in their team and they all have BMT.
Crusaders might have lost their first two game of this years competition against the Blues and the Hurricanes. Both of those games were away games but they were not going to disappoint their home crowd when they faced the Bulls last week. They thumped the Bulls in their first home game of the season 41 - 19.
Most of the players in the Kings side have only seem the Crusaders play on TV and for some of them its their first time playing overseas and playing 7 times Super Rugby champions is maybe not the way you would want to remember your first tour game. The Kings are also without some of their own big names, namely Luke Watson, Darron Nell, SP Marais, Steven Sykes, Andries Struass and Michael Killian.
The Kings have showed the rugby public that they are here to play and i think it is only fair to judge them on what we have seen so far in the last 3 game. Their defense were top class against the Force and Sharks only conceding 2 tries against the Force and managed to keep the Sharks tryless for 80 minutes. Things fell apart against the Chiefs last weekend where they lost a bit of concentration at the start of the second half.
The Kings still need to show us what they can offer on attack as we have mainly seen them defend for all they worth, they did however show a bit of attacking play towards the end of the Chiefs game to give them a scare but a little to late to do anything to the score card.
Against the Crusaders the Kings will throw everything at them on defense and might keep them from scoring for the first quarter of the game but as soon as the defensive wall breaks it could get ugly. If the Kings can take confidence from their previous games and back themselves with ball in hand and get into the Crusaders 22, taking the game to them as to defending for 80 minutes the Kings could come within 20 points or less.
Game kicks off at 8:35 SA time.
The Kings made it difficult for last years losing finalists and were still looking good to get a losing bonus point for their troubles, but a Patrick Lambie penalty in the last 10 minutes took that away from them, final score 12 - 22.
It did not get any easier as they played the 2012 champions the Chiefs the week after, and most said that this would be their first real test (i thought that was the Sharks) and some suggested a difference of 50+ points. The Chiefs started off running every ball and was surely out to proof a point. The Kings once again proof their critics wrong. The Chiefs did manage to score 4 tries but the Kings were also scoring points at every opportunity, and as in the Sharks game the Chiefs had to kick one final penalty to take it away from the Kings, final score 35 - 24.
This weekend the Kings will face the Crusaders in Christchurch and in my opinion this will be their first real test. Crusaders being the team that played in the most Super Rugby (S12, S14,S15) finals, 10 in total and winning 7 out of 10 is a tremendous achievement in itself. The Crusaders have a good number of All Blacks in their team and they all have BMT.
Crusaders might have lost their first two game of this years competition against the Blues and the Hurricanes. Both of those games were away games but they were not going to disappoint their home crowd when they faced the Bulls last week. They thumped the Bulls in their first home game of the season 41 - 19.
Most of the players in the Kings side have only seem the Crusaders play on TV and for some of them its their first time playing overseas and playing 7 times Super Rugby champions is maybe not the way you would want to remember your first tour game. The Kings are also without some of their own big names, namely Luke Watson, Darron Nell, SP Marais, Steven Sykes, Andries Struass and Michael Killian.
The Kings have showed the rugby public that they are here to play and i think it is only fair to judge them on what we have seen so far in the last 3 game. Their defense were top class against the Force and Sharks only conceding 2 tries against the Force and managed to keep the Sharks tryless for 80 minutes. Things fell apart against the Chiefs last weekend where they lost a bit of concentration at the start of the second half.
The Kings still need to show us what they can offer on attack as we have mainly seen them defend for all they worth, they did however show a bit of attacking play towards the end of the Chiefs game to give them a scare but a little to late to do anything to the score card.
Against the Crusaders the Kings will throw everything at them on defense and might keep them from scoring for the first quarter of the game but as soon as the defensive wall breaks it could get ugly. If the Kings can take confidence from their previous games and back themselves with ball in hand and get into the Crusaders 22, taking the game to them as to defending for 80 minutes the Kings could come within 20 points or less.
Game kicks off at 8:35 SA time.
Thursday 21 March 2013
Southern Kings team to face Crusaders
The Southern Kings will face Crusaders in the first game on Saturday (8:35 am SA time) at AMI Stadium in Christchurch New Zealand.
The Southern Kings have lost their 3 previous captains in Luke Watson, Darron Nell and Steven Sykes due to injuries. With Andries Strauss also injured the Kings will have their 4th captain in just as any games in Schalk Ferreira. Ferreira who had a good game against the Chiefs last Friday night will be assisted by Ronnie Cooke how will take the role as vice captain.
Director of Rugby Alan Solomons had the following to say about these two: “Schalk Ferreira, who I think is an exemplary player, who always gives everything in every game, will no doubt lead by example, and Ronnie Cooke as Vice Captain has shifted in fantastically, he is a superb player and a superb bloke".
Another player that will be missing the tour is SP Marais. Marais started all 3 previous games for the Kings but had to leave the field against the Chiefs due to injury which gave an opportunity for George Whitehead to come into the team. Kings have build a good platform but injuries have crept in and some new faces will have to step up and be counted for.
“Rynier Bernado comes in on the bench, obviously with Steve being out. I think it’s a great opportunity. Here’s a guy from Framesby, out of the academy, playing Super Rugby. I’ve said it before it’s the green shoots of what Robbie [Kempston] is doing at the academy and it’s fantastic,” said Solomons.
“What’s also fantastic to see is Waylon Murray, who had 30 minutes against Border (in the EP Kings Vodacom Cup game last week). He basically hasn’t played for a year and its fantastic having him as part of the setup. It’s fantastic for him personally and for the team,” Solomons said.
Solomons said the change of players on the tour would also add its own set of challenges, after French hooker Virgil Lacombe and Argentine flank Thomas Leonardi was flown back to South Africa, with Devin Oosthuizen and Edgar Marutlulle both named on the bench for Saturday.
“Obviously for Devin and Edgar, it’s quite tough for them. They only arrive tomorrow morning at 9am.”
Solomons said the game against the Crusaders was going to be a tough challenge.
“They’re absolutely a top side, and what I regard as a measure of respect, they’ve chosen their best team. They have picked their strongest possible team and for us I think that’s a huge challenge, but they’ve shown us that respect,” he said.
The Southern Kings team:
15 George Whitehead 14 Sergeal Petersen 13 Ronnie Cooke 12 Hadleigh Parkes 11 Marcello Sampson 10 Demetri Catrakilis 9 Shaun Venter 8 Jacques Engelbrecht 7 Wimpie van der Walt 6 Cornell du Preez 5 David Bulbring 4 Daniel Adongo 3 Kevin Duys 2 Bandise Maku 1 Schalk Ferreira (captain)
Replacements: 16 Edgar Marutlulle 17 Jaco Engels 18 Rynier Bernardo 19 Devin Oosthuizen 20 Nicolas Vergallo 21 Waylon Murray 22 Elric van Vuuren
The Southern Kings have lost their 3 previous captains in Luke Watson, Darron Nell and Steven Sykes due to injuries. With Andries Strauss also injured the Kings will have their 4th captain in just as any games in Schalk Ferreira. Ferreira who had a good game against the Chiefs last Friday night will be assisted by Ronnie Cooke how will take the role as vice captain.
Director of Rugby Alan Solomons had the following to say about these two: “Schalk Ferreira, who I think is an exemplary player, who always gives everything in every game, will no doubt lead by example, and Ronnie Cooke as Vice Captain has shifted in fantastically, he is a superb player and a superb bloke".
Another player that will be missing the tour is SP Marais. Marais started all 3 previous games for the Kings but had to leave the field against the Chiefs due to injury which gave an opportunity for George Whitehead to come into the team. Kings have build a good platform but injuries have crept in and some new faces will have to step up and be counted for.
“Rynier Bernado comes in on the bench, obviously with Steve being out. I think it’s a great opportunity. Here’s a guy from Framesby, out of the academy, playing Super Rugby. I’ve said it before it’s the green shoots of what Robbie [Kempston] is doing at the academy and it’s fantastic,” said Solomons.
“What’s also fantastic to see is Waylon Murray, who had 30 minutes against Border (in the EP Kings Vodacom Cup game last week). He basically hasn’t played for a year and its fantastic having him as part of the setup. It’s fantastic for him personally and for the team,” Solomons said.
Solomons said the change of players on the tour would also add its own set of challenges, after French hooker Virgil Lacombe and Argentine flank Thomas Leonardi was flown back to South Africa, with Devin Oosthuizen and Edgar Marutlulle both named on the bench for Saturday.
“Obviously for Devin and Edgar, it’s quite tough for them. They only arrive tomorrow morning at 9am.”
Solomons said the game against the Crusaders was going to be a tough challenge.
“They’re absolutely a top side, and what I regard as a measure of respect, they’ve chosen their best team. They have picked their strongest possible team and for us I think that’s a huge challenge, but they’ve shown us that respect,” he said.
The Southern Kings team:
15 George Whitehead 14 Sergeal Petersen 13 Ronnie Cooke 12 Hadleigh Parkes 11 Marcello Sampson 10 Demetri Catrakilis 9 Shaun Venter 8 Jacques Engelbrecht 7 Wimpie van der Walt 6 Cornell du Preez 5 David Bulbring 4 Daniel Adongo 3 Kevin Duys 2 Bandise Maku 1 Schalk Ferreira (captain)
Replacements: 16 Edgar Marutlulle 17 Jaco Engels 18 Rynier Bernardo 19 Devin Oosthuizen 20 Nicolas Vergallo 21 Waylon Murray 22 Elric van Vuuren
Wednesday 20 March 2013
Some stats from the Kings and Chiefs game.
With all the drama surrounding the Southern Kings and foreign players, let take a minute and appreciate their good performance against the Chiefs on Friday evening.
The Southern Kings played the defending champions this last Friday evening at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth. The Kings have had a good start to the 2013 Super Rugby Competition with an opening win against the Force and a narrow lose to the 2012 runners up the Sharks.
Amongst the forwards Schalk Ferreira had a good 80 minutes on the park. He only missed 1 out of 10 (91%) tackles, stuck his head in 8 ruck and mauls and managed 26 meters with 8 runs. Bandise Maku was solid on defense not missing 1 of his 5 tackles, gained 22 meters for his team and won 3 turnovers. Cornell du Preez had another solid outing, hitting those rucks 6 times, gaining 62 meters and also off loaded 3 times. Wimpie van der Walt made 12 tackles with only Ben Afeaki and Tanerau Latimer from the Chiefs making 13 each but van der Walt was the most effective with 100%. Van der Walt forced 1 turnover and also hit 8 ruck and mauls.
Amongst the backs it was Demetri Catrakilis who gained the most kicking meters, gaining 515 meters and 27 running meters. In his 3 runs he created on 1 line break. Catrakilis also missed 1 out of his 7 tackles. Without Andries Strauss on his inside Ronnie Cooke had to be the senior partner and show Hadleigh Parks how its done. He did how ever miss 2 from 12 tackles but gained 30 meters from his 6 runs helped out at 8 rucks and forced 2 turnovers. Sergeal Petersen made the most of his 3 runs as he gained 110 meters with 1 one of those ending under the post on halftime.
Daniel Adongo made the most of his 26 minutes when he came on in the second half, being spot on with all his tackles, contributed 13 meters with ball in hand and hitting 4 ruck and mauls.
Comparing the Southern Kings to the defending champions they really took the game to the Chiefs and were unlucky not to have scored a losing bonus point to be within 7 points. Kings created 2 from 3 line breaks. They did the basics right by winning all their scrums, won 12 from 13 line outs and also stealing one from the Chiefs. Ran 86 times compared to Chiefs 89 but Chiefs gained 707 meters to Kings 589. The Kings kicked 4 times more then the Chiefs and made 118 (77%) tackles to Chiefs 106 (85%).
The Kings who are known for their solid defense in the last 2 games had a few numbers short out wide and allowed the Chiefs to score a few in the corners also showed some good attacking play in the last 15 or so minutes and kept the ball as their confidence grew towards the end of the game.
So far the Kings have shown that they can compete against the seasoned teams in this competition and it will be difficult to get points in Port Elizabeth. Having a Kings Army of 30 000+ strong and growing, dressed in Kings jerseys and armed with Kings flags lets hope their confidence will grow as a team when they travel to the unknown and maybe collect a bonus point or two before returning home.
The Southern Kings played the defending champions this last Friday evening at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth. The Kings have had a good start to the 2013 Super Rugby Competition with an opening win against the Force and a narrow lose to the 2012 runners up the Sharks.
Amongst the forwards Schalk Ferreira had a good 80 minutes on the park. He only missed 1 out of 10 (91%) tackles, stuck his head in 8 ruck and mauls and managed 26 meters with 8 runs. Bandise Maku was solid on defense not missing 1 of his 5 tackles, gained 22 meters for his team and won 3 turnovers. Cornell du Preez had another solid outing, hitting those rucks 6 times, gaining 62 meters and also off loaded 3 times. Wimpie van der Walt made 12 tackles with only Ben Afeaki and Tanerau Latimer from the Chiefs making 13 each but van der Walt was the most effective with 100%. Van der Walt forced 1 turnover and also hit 8 ruck and mauls.
Amongst the backs it was Demetri Catrakilis who gained the most kicking meters, gaining 515 meters and 27 running meters. In his 3 runs he created on 1 line break. Catrakilis also missed 1 out of his 7 tackles. Without Andries Strauss on his inside Ronnie Cooke had to be the senior partner and show Hadleigh Parks how its done. He did how ever miss 2 from 12 tackles but gained 30 meters from his 6 runs helped out at 8 rucks and forced 2 turnovers. Sergeal Petersen made the most of his 3 runs as he gained 110 meters with 1 one of those ending under the post on halftime.
Daniel Adongo made the most of his 26 minutes when he came on in the second half, being spot on with all his tackles, contributed 13 meters with ball in hand and hitting 4 ruck and mauls.
Comparing the Southern Kings to the defending champions they really took the game to the Chiefs and were unlucky not to have scored a losing bonus point to be within 7 points. Kings created 2 from 3 line breaks. They did the basics right by winning all their scrums, won 12 from 13 line outs and also stealing one from the Chiefs. Ran 86 times compared to Chiefs 89 but Chiefs gained 707 meters to Kings 589. The Kings kicked 4 times more then the Chiefs and made 118 (77%) tackles to Chiefs 106 (85%).
The Kings who are known for their solid defense in the last 2 games had a few numbers short out wide and allowed the Chiefs to score a few in the corners also showed some good attacking play in the last 15 or so minutes and kept the ball as their confidence grew towards the end of the game.
So far the Kings have shown that they can compete against the seasoned teams in this competition and it will be difficult to get points in Port Elizabeth. Having a Kings Army of 30 000+ strong and growing, dressed in Kings jerseys and armed with Kings flags lets hope their confidence will grow as a team when they travel to the unknown and maybe collect a bonus point or two before returning home.
Southern Kings under the spot light with their foreign payers, again.
After Saturdays game against the Chiefs, the Southern Kings have yet again come under the spot light with regards to their foreign players.
On Saturday the Kings fielded 4 out of their 5 so called foreign players. Hadleigh Parks (New Zealander) was in the starting lineup with Nicolas Vergallo (Argentinian) and Daniel Adongo (Kenyan) on the bench, Thomas Leonardi (Argentinian) which was not in the match day 22 also made an appearance after captain Darron Nell injured his calf minutes before kick off.
It seems like there is a lot of confusion regarding foreign players. Confusion on SARU side or the Southern Kings side?
Daniel Adongo is not seen as a foreigner as he is from the African continent. The two Argentinians Nicolas Vergallo and Thomas Leonardi is also not seen as foreigners by the Kings.
Cheeky Watson said: "In the process leading up to the signing of foreign players last year, we were led to believe and even encouraged to sign Argentinian players" They are participating in the Vodacom Cup as the Pampas.
To Watson's understanding, they would not be seen as foreign players as in the same way Adongo is not seen as a foreigner.
Watson also added: “I have received a call from SA Rugby, and while there is a difference of opinion relating to the definition of foreign players, it is my duty to submit to the guidance of the governing body of SARU”
“That being said, the sanctions which are being considered against the Southern Kings, as per the statement issued by SARU, have been clearly conveyed to me,”
Watson said that in light of this, the decision has been made to submit to SARU’s guidance on the matter.
“I am on record as having clearly stated that our treatment and entrance into Super Rugby, and the entire process to date, has disadvantaged us tremendously,” said Watson.
“However, no-one can dispute the fact that we are the first of the Super Rugby franchises added to the competition to have won our first game. We have also had a record of over 100,000 spectators through the gates of Nelson Mandela Bay stadium in our first three home games,” he said.
“We have proven in the last three games that we have played, by the attendance and the support of the spectators that we will fight and we will show our true colours as our emblem emblazons, the spear and the shield,” he said.
“As Winston Churchill once said “We shall never surrender.”
On Saturday the Kings fielded 4 out of their 5 so called foreign players. Hadleigh Parks (New Zealander) was in the starting lineup with Nicolas Vergallo (Argentinian) and Daniel Adongo (Kenyan) on the bench, Thomas Leonardi (Argentinian) which was not in the match day 22 also made an appearance after captain Darron Nell injured his calf minutes before kick off.
It seems like there is a lot of confusion regarding foreign players. Confusion on SARU side or the Southern Kings side?
Daniel Adongo is not seen as a foreigner as he is from the African continent. The two Argentinians Nicolas Vergallo and Thomas Leonardi is also not seen as foreigners by the Kings.
Cheeky Watson said: "In the process leading up to the signing of foreign players last year, we were led to believe and even encouraged to sign Argentinian players" They are participating in the Vodacom Cup as the Pampas.
To Watson's understanding, they would not be seen as foreign players as in the same way Adongo is not seen as a foreigner.
Watson also added: “I have received a call from SA Rugby, and while there is a difference of opinion relating to the definition of foreign players, it is my duty to submit to the guidance of the governing body of SARU”
“That being said, the sanctions which are being considered against the Southern Kings, as per the statement issued by SARU, have been clearly conveyed to me,”
Watson said that in light of this, the decision has been made to submit to SARU’s guidance on the matter.
“I am on record as having clearly stated that our treatment and entrance into Super Rugby, and the entire process to date, has disadvantaged us tremendously,” said Watson.
“However, no-one can dispute the fact that we are the first of the Super Rugby franchises added to the competition to have won our first game. We have also had a record of over 100,000 spectators through the gates of Nelson Mandela Bay stadium in our first three home games,” he said.
“We have proven in the last three games that we have played, by the attendance and the support of the spectators that we will fight and we will show our true colours as our emblem emblazons, the spear and the shield,” he said.
“As Winston Churchill once said “We shall never surrender.”
Tuesday 19 March 2013
Masage hat-trick breaks Kings
The Chiefs faced the Southern Kings in a Round 5 match at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Friday night.
The match did how ever not start off as the Kings would have liked. Not only were the Kings defending their line as the whistle blew for the start of the game, but they also lost their captain Darron Nell minutes before the start of the game, with Andries Strauss also struggling with an injury niggle it was up to Steven Sykes to lead the Kings on the field.
The Kings were forced to defend their line for the first 9 minutes after kick off before Gareth Anschombe kicked a penalty to bring the score to 3 - 0. The Chiefs and Kings exchanged a few more penalties and 13 minutes into the game the score was 6 - 3 to the Chiefs.
The Chiefs made good use of the ball playing the width of the field from every ruck. Lelia Masaga was on the receiving end of a pass and went over for his first try of the game, 13 - 3 to the Chiefs. Kings came close to scoring one of their own through Argentinian replacement Thomas Leonardi, but lost the ball close to the line, a Demetri Catrakilis penalty brought the score to 13 - 6.
With the Chiefs attacking and some brilliant interplay between Aaron Cruden and Nanai Williams to gave Masaga his second to bring the score to 18 - 6 with 20 minutes to go before the half time break.
Chiefs were strong on attack just before halftime and looked in a good position to score another try, but poor handling from the Chiefs allowed Sergeal Peterson to snatch a loose ball in his 22 and the only thing he saw was the try line. Catrakilis converted and the Chiefs went into half time with a 5 point lead, 13 - 18.
The Kings lost some concentration for the next 15 minutes after half time and the Chiefs managed to score two more tries, Same Cane scored the first one and Masaga scoring his 3rd, 32 - 13 after 53 minutes.
The Kings knew they had to play in the Chiefs 22 and made most of their opportunities when they got down their, kicking for touch at every penalty and putting the pressure on the Chiefs. After yet another kick to the line Jacques Engelbrecht was rewarded for his hard work in the last two games and went over for the Kings 2nd try, 18 - 32 to the Chiefs.
Catrakilis kicked another two penalties for the Kings to bring the score to 24 - 32 with 9 minutes to go and a losing bonus point looked like a fitting reward for another gutsy effort against the defending champions.
Anscombe spoiled the Kings party when he kicked a final penalty to secure the game and stretching their lead to 11 points. Final score Southern Kings 24 Chiefs 35.
It was great to see the people of Port Elizabeth coming out and supporting their team before they leave for their over seas tour. Kings can take some positives out the game as they defended well at times, but also the fact that they kept their ball well on attack and taking points at every opportunity.
Kings are still lacking the experience to compete against seasoned teams, but they fighting for survival in every match and their confidence are growing, one can only hope the coming tour will knit them closer as a team and not break their fighting spirits and maybe get a bonus point or two.
The match did how ever not start off as the Kings would have liked. Not only were the Kings defending their line as the whistle blew for the start of the game, but they also lost their captain Darron Nell minutes before the start of the game, with Andries Strauss also struggling with an injury niggle it was up to Steven Sykes to lead the Kings on the field.
The Kings were forced to defend their line for the first 9 minutes after kick off before Gareth Anschombe kicked a penalty to bring the score to 3 - 0. The Chiefs and Kings exchanged a few more penalties and 13 minutes into the game the score was 6 - 3 to the Chiefs.
The Chiefs made good use of the ball playing the width of the field from every ruck. Lelia Masaga was on the receiving end of a pass and went over for his first try of the game, 13 - 3 to the Chiefs. Kings came close to scoring one of their own through Argentinian replacement Thomas Leonardi, but lost the ball close to the line, a Demetri Catrakilis penalty brought the score to 13 - 6.
With the Chiefs attacking and some brilliant interplay between Aaron Cruden and Nanai Williams to gave Masaga his second to bring the score to 18 - 6 with 20 minutes to go before the half time break.
Chiefs were strong on attack just before halftime and looked in a good position to score another try, but poor handling from the Chiefs allowed Sergeal Peterson to snatch a loose ball in his 22 and the only thing he saw was the try line. Catrakilis converted and the Chiefs went into half time with a 5 point lead, 13 - 18.
The Kings lost some concentration for the next 15 minutes after half time and the Chiefs managed to score two more tries, Same Cane scored the first one and Masaga scoring his 3rd, 32 - 13 after 53 minutes.
The Kings knew they had to play in the Chiefs 22 and made most of their opportunities when they got down their, kicking for touch at every penalty and putting the pressure on the Chiefs. After yet another kick to the line Jacques Engelbrecht was rewarded for his hard work in the last two games and went over for the Kings 2nd try, 18 - 32 to the Chiefs.
Catrakilis kicked another two penalties for the Kings to bring the score to 24 - 32 with 9 minutes to go and a losing bonus point looked like a fitting reward for another gutsy effort against the defending champions.
Anscombe spoiled the Kings party when he kicked a final penalty to secure the game and stretching their lead to 11 points. Final score Southern Kings 24 Chiefs 35.
It was great to see the people of Port Elizabeth coming out and supporting their team before they leave for their over seas tour. Kings can take some positives out the game as they defended well at times, but also the fact that they kept their ball well on attack and taking points at every opportunity.
Kings are still lacking the experience to compete against seasoned teams, but they fighting for survival in every match and their confidence are growing, one can only hope the coming tour will knit them closer as a team and not break their fighting spirits and maybe get a bonus point or two.
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