Kings showed grit and determination

The Southern Kings went down 30 - 46 against the Hurricanes this past Saturday in Wellington. It took the Kings about 20 minutes to get in the game, but unfortunately by then they were already playing catch up.

The Kings however did put up a brave fight till the end, and can feel extremely unhappy about not scoring that forth bonus point try or coming within 7 points. At one stage they came within 6 points, but the Hurricanes snatched a ball in flight to score under the Kings poles that could so easily have been a try at the other end.

Southern Kings Director of Rugby, Alan Solomons, said the team had lacked a bit of focus in the first twenty minutes of the game, and had been a bit outmuscled.

“In the first 20 minutes we didn’t start well. We made mistakes and gave away penalties which resulted in them scoring tries,” he said.

“They outmuscled us a bit especially in those opening 20 minutes and they got a bit of a jump on us.

“I think we then started settling into the game and it’s a pity that we gave away that try just before half time, which put us a little on the back foot. We then fought back with a much better performance in the second half.”

“We were very close to them at one point, there was like a six point difference between the two teams,” said Solomons.

Head coach Matt Sexton said the team had a much better second half, they went out after the half time break and put some pressure on the Hurricanes. The team continues to grow from week to week.

“We did have good periods but we just have to put those together,” he said.

Solomons said the team had continued to show grit and determination on the field.

“The message I had to the players was that they have to keep working at it. Keep working hard and keep at it and it will eventually be rewarded. I think we were unfortunate to have not come away with at least one if not two bonus points,” he said.

“I think the biggest thing for us, and I have been hammering the side for this. Every one of the Hurricanes tries comes through either an error or penalties, and what we have to understand is that if you make a mistake and give away a penalty, you will get hammered at this level. We have to cut our error rate, it is absolutely vital,” said Solomons.