Poor execution letting Kings down

EP Kings Headcoach, Carlos Spencer said poor execution and defense let them down when they played the Free State Cheetahs at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.

The Cheetahs outscored the Kings four tries to three, picking up the bonus point in the 72nd minute.

Cheetahs flyhalf, Willie du Plessis score the first points for his team through a penalty kick in the 7th minute.

Ten minutes later he stretched their lead to 6 points after another successful penalty.

Kings' Gary van Aswegen kicked his teams first points in the 23rd minute through a penalty.

Bulls outside center, Francios Venter scored the first try of the game as the Bulls took a 13 - 3 lead with 10 minutes to half time.

Two minutes later Ntabeni Dukisa crossed the line for the Kings' first try, van Aswegen converted the extra's as the Kings trailed by three, 10 - 13.

Du Plessis kicked a penalty on half time as the Cheetahs took a16 - 10 lead into the break.

The Cheetahs stretched their lead five minutes into the second half when Sarel Pretorius scored a try in his 100th Currie Cup match, du Plessis added the extra's as the Cheetahs took a 23 - 10 lead.

Siyanda Grey gave the Kings a bit of hope when he scored a try towards the end of the third quarter, van Aswegen's touch line conversion came off the upright as they trailed by 8, 15 - 23 with 20 minutes to go.

The Cheetahs, however, scored another two tries, the first through du Plessis who also converted his own try and the bonus point try through Raymond Rhule, Pieter-Steyn de Wet added the extra's as they took a 37 - 15 lead with 10 minutes to go.

The Kings scored a consolation try through replacement Dwayne Jenner after a good passage of driving play. Scott van Breda added the extra two, as the game ended 22 - 37.

Scorers:

EP Kings - Tries: Dukisa, Grey, Jenner. Conversions: van Aswegen (1), van Breda (1). Penalties: van Aswegen

Cheetahs - Tries: Venter, Pretorius, du Plessis, Rhule. Conversions: du Plessis (3), de Wet. Penalties: du Plessis (3)

Preview: EP Kings vs Cheetahs

Coming off a 28 - 13 loss against the Vodacom Blue Bulls, Eastern Province Kings Head Coach Carlos Spencer decided to make wholesale changes for their first cross-conference match against the Free State Cheetahs at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. 

Spencer has made seven changes to the starting lineup, which sees Martin Ferreira making his Currie Cup debut for the Kings as he replaces Edgar Marutlulle who sustained a shoulder injury against the Blue Bulls on Friday night. 

Other changes amongst the forwards includes, Tom Botha as he replaces CJ van der Linde who moves to the bench. 

Darron Nel who scored the try against the Bulls last week, will replace David Bulbring who will be missing the next four games due to an ankle injury. 

Ronnie Cooke moves back to outside center as he replaces Tim Whitehead. Siyanda Grey has recovered from the flu and will form part of the back three with Ntabeni Dukisa on the wing and Siviwe Soyizwapi who takes over from Scott van Breda who moves to the bench. 

“It’s the same this weekend as what it was for us in the previous six weeks. It’s going to be a massive challenge for us and we’re looking forward to that,” said Spencer. 

Looking at some of the Kings player stats: 

Lizo Gqoboka has had 39 carries in 6 games, 12 in their last game against the Bulls. He also scored a try against the Bulls when they played them in Pretoria in their first round match. He has played 340 minutes out of a possible 480 minutes over the last six games. Lizo also gets around the park, with 173 meters in six games, 53 meters against the Bulls last week. 

Edgar Martululle has played 363 minutes out of a possible 480 minutes. He has had 55 carries with 10 in the last game, and has gained 316 meters with 83 meters in the last game. He's ball handling has also been good for a hooker with only 2 handling errors in 6 games. 

Shane Gates has played 421 minutes out of a possible 480 minutes, and a full 80 minutes in the Kings' last game. Gates has been vital for the Kings in the midfield, with 79 tackles overall, 11 in the last game. He has missed 8 tackles overall and only 1 against the Bulls last week. Gates also made two line breaks in his 7 carries against the Bulls last week. He is also the top try scorer for the Kings with 2 tries. 

Scott van Breda has played a mammoth 444 minutes over the last 6 games, only missing 36 minutes against the Bulls. Van Breda is the top points scorer for the Kings with 37 points. He has beaten 3 defenders from his 33 carries, and also managed 5 line breaks with 1 try.     

EP Kings u21 to face Griquas u21

The Eastern Province Kings under 21s will face the Griquas under 21s as a curtain raiser for the EP Kings and Free State Cheetahs at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.

Kings fullback, Selvyn Davies scored 22 points in their last match as the Kings beat SWD 37- 6 at Outeniqua Park in George a week ago. 

Kings prop, Nicolas Roebeck is the only player to retain his spot in the starting lineup, as both replacements from last week, Warrick Venter and Matthew Moore, swop places with John Schmitt and Mzuvukile Sofisa who moves to the bench.

Captain, Kevin Kaba will again form the lock pairing with Brendon Hector.

Ivan du Preez will replace Frans Gerber as he moves to the flank to make way for Aiden Davies at the back of the scrum.

Amongst the backs, Sonwabo Majola comes in for Franswa Ueckermann at scrumhalf to form a new partnership with Warren Swarts.

Jaco Bernardo will run inside Siphumelele Msutwana as he moves up from the bench to replace Riaan Esterhuizen at inside center. The only other change to the backline sees Khaya Malotana replacing Segeal Peterson on the right wing.

Mario Mowers and Matthuys Venter are the only newcomers to the bench.

The Kings are currently topping the log in Group B on 29 points from 6 games, followed by Boland with a game in hand on 20.

Kick-off at 12:30pm.

EP Kings u21:

1 Nicolas Roebech 2 Warrick Venter 3 Matthew Moore 4 Kevin Kaba 5 Brandon Hector 6 Ivan du Preeze 7 Sefan Zaayman 8 Aiden Davis 9 Sonwabo Majola 10 Warren Swarts 11 Aya Dlepu 12 Jaco Bernardo 13 Siphumelele Msutwana 14 Khaya Malotana 15 Selvyn Davids

Reserves:

16 John Schmitt 17 Mzuvukile Sofisa 18 Erwin Slabbert 19 Claude Tshidibi 20 Mario Mowers 21 Juan Smit 22 Matthuys Venter   

EP Kings u19 to face Western Province

The Eastern Province Kings under 19s will travel to Cape Town this weekend to face the Western Province under 19s on Saturday, as they will try and make an amends after their first round loss in Port Elizabeth, 10 - 38. 

The Kings had a convincing bonus point win on Friday in Port Elizabeth, scoring 5 tries to 1 in their 42 - 7 win over the Leopards. Kings fullback Malcom Jaer scored 25 points as he crossed the line twice and added 3 conversions and 3 penalties with the boot.

The Kings are currently 5th on the log after 9 games with 19 points, 1 point behind the Sharks on 20 points, and 4 points ahead of the Lions on 15.

EP Kings u19:

1 David Murray 2 JP Jamieson 3 James Beyl 4 Tyler Paul 5 Sintu Manjezi 6 CJ Vellerman 7 Elandre van der Merwe 8 Wyand Grassman 9 Kewan Gibbs 10 Jason Baggott 11 Lindelwe Zungu 12 Luan Nieuwoudt 13 Jeremy Ward 14 Luca Dalla-Vecchia 15 Malcolm Jaer

Reserves:

16 Arno Lotter 17 Christoper Whiting 18 Thembelihle Yase 19 Gerrit Huisamen 20 Mihlali Nchukana 21 Martin Keller 22 Vincient Moss 23 Athi Mayinje

Wholesale changes for Cheetahs

Coming off a 28 – 13 loss against the Vodacom Blue Bulls, Eastern Province Kings Head Coach Carlos Spencer decided to make wholesale changes, some forced through injury other purely rotational, for their first cross-conference match against the Free State Cheetahs at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.

Spencer has made seven changes to the starting lineup, which sees Martin Ferreira making his Currie Cup debut for the Kings at hooker as he replaces Edgar Marutlulle, who sustained a shoulder injury against the Blue Bulls on Friday night.

Tom Botha is back in the starting lineup and will be replacing CJ van der Linde who moves to the bench. Darron Nel who scored the try against the Bulls last week, will replace David Bulbring who will miss the next four games due to an ankle injury.

Ronnie Cooke moves back to outside center as he replaces Tim Whitehead, who suffers from a calf strain. Siyanda Grey has recovered from the flu and will form part of the back three with Ntabeni Dukisa on the wing along with Siviwe Soyizwapi, who takes over from Scott van Breda who moves to the bench.

“It’s the same this weekend as what it was for us in the previous six weeks. It’s going to be a massive challenge for us and we’re looking forward to that,” said Spencer.

Kick-off for the untelevised game will be at 3pm.

EP Kings:

1 Lizo Gqooka 2 Martin Ferreira 3 Tom Botha 4 Steven Sykes (c) 5 Darron Nell 6 Shaun McDonald 7 Devin Oosthuizen 8 Paul Schoeman 9 Kevin Luiters 10 Gary van Aswegen 11 Ntabeni Dukisa 12 Shane Gates 13 Ronnie Cooke 14 Siyanda Grey 15 Siviwe Soyizwapi

Reserves:

16 Albe de Swardt 17 CJ van der Linde 18 Steven Cummins 19 Stefan Willemse 20 Tobie Botes 21 Dwayne Jenner 22 Scott van Breda

More injury setbacks for Kings

The Eastern Province Kings will be without the services of the dynamic hooker, Edgar Marutlulle, this weekend, following a shoulder injury sustained during the game against the Vodacom Blue Bulls at Nelson Mandela Bay on Friday night.

According to the Kings’ medical team Marutlulle’s injury has ruled him out for the next two weeks.

The team will also be without David Bullbring, who injured his right ankle during the game, and who will be going for a scan of the joint today to determine the extent of the injury, but could be out for the next four weeks.

Tim Whitehead also sat on the sideline yesterday, having been battling with a calf niggle, but has been cleared for selection.

On the positive side, Thembelani Bholi and Siyanda Grey have both recovered from the flu and are available for selection, while Aidon Davis has also been cleared for selection following a knee injury that saw him miss out last week’s game.

The Eastern Province Kings will face the Free State Cheetahs in their first cross-conference match at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday afternoon.

Too many individual errors

Eastern Province Head Coach, Carlos Spencer said it was a case of too many individual errors that cost his team when they lost to the Vodacom Blue Bulls in their return match at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Friday evening. 

Despite trailing by five points at half time, the Bulls scored a further two tries and a penalty in the second half to secure a 28 - 13 win. Bulls flyhalf, Jacques-Louis Potgieter opened the scoring for the Bulls through a penalty after eight minutes, to take a 3 - 0 lead. 

Bulls center, William Small-Smith crossed the line to score the Bulls' first try with 24 minutes gone, Potgieter was unable to convert the extra's as the Bulls took an 8 - 0 lead. 

Kings managed to narrow the gap by two points with two Scott van Breda penalties, but another penalty on half time by Potgieter gave the Bulls an 11 - 6 lead as the whistle blew for half time. 

Bjorn Basson scored an early second half try for the Bulls as they took a comfortable 18 - 6 lead, after the successful conversion by Potgieter. 

Potgieter added another penalty, before Bulls captain, Deon Stegmann scored his teams third try. Potgieter converted the extra's as the game was pretty much over for the Kings at 28 - 6 with 15 minutes to go. 

Akona Ndungane scored his teams bonus point try, but it was disallowed after Stegmann was red carded for striking a Kings player in the face leading up to the try. 

The Kings scored a consilation try well after the 80 minutes as Darron Nel crashed over the try line to score his teams first try. His try was converted by Tobie Botes as the game ended 13 - 28 in favour of the visiting Bulls. 

Scorers: 

EP Kings: (13) - Try: Nel. Conversion: Botes. Panelties: van Breda (2) 

Blue Bulls: (28) - Tries: Small-Smith, Basson, Stegmann. Conversion: Potgieter (2). Penalties: Potgieter (3)

Kings expecting a strong physical battle

Eastern Province Head Coach, Carlos Spencer has announced a few changes to the Kings team that will take on the Vodacom Blue Bulls at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium this Friday night.

Spencer announced five changes to the starting line up and a further four changes to the bench compared to the team that played against the DHL Western Province at Newlands last week.

Up front CJ van der Linde moves to the starting lineup in place of Tom Botha, who is being rested this week.

“Hopefully CJ will bring a bit more for us in terms of the scrum. We have been giving away a few penalties and free kicks in that area so hopefully with his experience he will come in and help solve that,” he said.

Spencer also announced the return of Devon Oosthuizen, who will start at flank opposite Shaun Mcdonald, while Paul Schoeman moves to eighth man to replace Aidon Davis, who twisted his knee during practice on Monday.

Among the backs Spencer announced Gary van Aswegen’s return at flyhalf after a two week injury absence, while Shane Gates returns from the bench to inside center.

On the bench, Spencer went with a five two split, as he felt they would need more replacements up front to match the physicality of the Bulls.

“We can beat the Bulls. We understand that they are a better side than what they were three weeks ago. We know we have a massive challenge on our hands and the guys are excited by that,” he said.

“The Bulls are coming off a good win against the Lions and we need to knock that confidence out,” he said.

Spencer said it was only natural that the team’s confidence had taken a knock having lost the last five games in a row, but said they had been working hard on addressing this and were working hard to turn it around.

“It’s small things that are costing us, I have said it every week, I have 100% confidence in this team.”

“We have put the last five weeks behind us and are looking at this as the start of our season,” said Spencer.

“We have an opportunity to turn the season around, we want people to remember for the five weeks coming, not the five weeks that have gone past,” he said.

Captain Steven Sykes said he didn’t believe there was any doubt in the team.

“We are really positive and looking forward to the last five games. The guys are fired up and its great that we’re playing at home,” he said.

Sykes said they were expecting a physical match from the Bulls and the Kings were looking at bringing a strong physical game to them.

EP Kings: 

1 Lizo Gqoboka 2 Edgar Marutlulle 3 CJ van der Linde 4 David Bulbring 5 Steven Sykes (c) 6 Shaun McDonald 7 Devon Oosthuizen 8 Paul Schoeman 9 Kevin Luiters 10 Gary van Aswegen 11 Siviwe Soyizwapi 12 Shane Gates 13 Tim Whitehead 14 Ronnie Cooke 15 Scott van Breda 

Reserves: 

16 Mike van Vuuren 17 Simon Kerrod 18 BG Uys 19 Darron Nel 20 Stefan Willemse 21 Tobie Botes 22 Ntabeni Dukisa

Kings licking their wounds

There is uncertainty over the availability of some players, as the Kings got together Monday morning for their preparations ahead of Friday nights game against the Blue Bulls, at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth.

EP Kings captain, Steven Sykes was rested at yesterday's practice as he was battling from a chest infection. At this stage it's not too serious and he will be considered for selection.

Two more Kings players are currently off sick due to a chest infection, namely, Siyanda Grey and Thembelani Bholi.

Junior Springbok, Aidon Davis, twisted his knee during yesterday's training. The medical team will evaluate him today to determine the extent of his injury.

Paul Schoeman and Tom Botha were both rested after an intensive game against Western Province, but both will be available to play if selected on Friday. 

There are, however, some rays of sunlight as Charl du Plessis, who has been out with a rib injury, has been declared fit for selection as well as Gary van Aswegen, who missed out the last two games due to a groin strain.

Flanker Shaun McDonald, who sustained a cut above the eye on Friday night, has been declared fit for the upcoming game.

The Kings, who lost narrowly against the Blue Bulls in their first round match at Loftus, 25 - 30, should really back themselves on Friday, as they are still trying to get that first win under their belts.  

Lost opportunities cost Kings u19

Despite a late charge from the Eastern Province Kings under 19s against the Sharks under 19s they were unable to erase an 8 point deficit in the closing minutes in their game on Friday night.

Sharks wing, Marcel Coetzee scored his teams first try after he intercepted turnover ball from the Kings on their try line. Bragman converted his own try as they took a 7 - 0 lead.

Sharks took a 7 - 0 lead into the half time break as the Kings missed two earlier attempts at goal.

Sharks scored their second try through Rowan Gouws, Bragman was unable to convert the extra two as they took a 12 - 0 lead.

Bragman added another three points after good pressure from the Sharks resulted in a penalty inside the Kings 22, Sharks took a comfortable 15 - 0  lead.

Kings outside centre, Jeremy Ward scored his teams only try, Malcolm Jaer converted as the Kings trailed 7 - 15.

The Kings threw everything at the Sharks in the closing minutes but were unable to erase the 8 point deficit. 

Scorers:

EP Kings u19 - Try: Ward. Conversion: Jaer

Sharks u19 - Tries: Coetzee, Gouws. Conversion: Bragman (1). Penalty: Bragman (1)

EP under 19s to face Sharks

The Eastern Province under 19s will face the Sharks under 19s at the NMMU Main Sports field at 5 pm tonight.

The EP u19s are currently 5th on 14 points in Group A of the ABSA Under 19 Competition, with 3 wins and 4 losses from 7 games. 

The Sharks u19s with one game in hand, are 4th on 15 points with 3 wins and 3 losses from 6 games. 

Kick off is at 5pm.

Eastern Province u19:

1 David Murray 2 Jean-Pierre Jamieson 3 James Beyl 4 Elandre van der Merwe 5 Sintu Manjezi 6 CJ Vellerman (c) 7 Tyler Paul 8 Wynand Grassmann 9 Jason Baggott 10 Garrick Mattheus 11 Lindelwe Zungu 12 Luan Nieuwoudt 13 Jeremy Ward 14 Luca Dalla-Vecchia 15 Malcom Jaer

Reserves:

16 Dyllon Domoney 17 Christopher Whiting 18 Thembelihle Yase 19 Gerrit Huisamen 20 Mhlali Nichukana 21 Kewan Gibb 22 Vincient Moss 23 Athenkosi Mayinje

Sharks u19:

1 Mzamo Majola 2 Jordan Meaker 3 Ruan Kramer (c) 4 Johan du Toit 5 Hyron Andrews 6 Adriaan De le Ray 7 Jean-Luc du Preez 8 Daniel du Preez 9 Rowan Gouws 10 Joshua Bragman 11 Philip Marais 12 Merlyn Pieterse 13 Marius Louw 14 Marcel Coetzee 15 Chis Lines

Reserves

16 Andrew du Plessis 17 Cameron Holenstein 18 Mthunzi Moloi 19 Wian Vosloo 20 Ayron Schramm 21 Matthew Reece-Edwards 22 Malcolm Cele 23 Brad Ellse  

EP u21s secure bonus point win

The EP Kings u21s scored three tries in the last 15 minutes in their match against the Limpopo Blue Bulls u21s at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday to secure a bonus point win.

The Kings took an early ten point lead, after Matthys Venter kicked a penalty after just 4 minutes, followed by a Sergeal Petersen try 3 minutes later. Venter added the extra two points as the Kings led 10 - 0 after 7 minutes.

Limpopo's Jean Grobler converted his own try 7 minutes later, after he missed an earlier attempt at a penalty, as they trailed 7 - 10 after 15 minutes.

Limpopo Blue Bulls scored two consecutive tries, the first through Jovan Cookson followed by Jean Volkwyn after Kings' Venter received a yellow card half way through the first half. Both tries were converted by Grobler as Limpopo took a 21 - 10 lead.

Ivan-John du Preez scored a try for the Kings on half time to narrow the gap to four points, after a successful conversion from Venter.

Limpopo held on to a 21 - 17 lead as the teams went into the half time break.

The Kings got their second breath as the game reached the final stages, as they scored three unanswered tries. 

The first two tries were scored through fullback, Selvyn Davids, the first on the 65th minute and the bonus point try a few minutes later. Venter converted the first but was unsuccessful at his second attempt.        

Kings outside centre, Siphu Msutwana scored the Kings' fifth and final try, Venter added the extra two to give the Kings a well deserved 36 - 21 victory.

The Kings stretched their lead to 19 points at the top of the table, five points clear of second placed SWD, who has a game in hand on 14 points.

The Kings will face the Pumas in their next match at Kemsley Park in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.

New midfield for Province clash

EP Kings head coach, Carlos Spencer, has made five changes to the starting lineup that will take on DHL Western Province at Newlands this weekend.

Spencer announced that Steven Sykes will once again captain the side as regular skipper, Luke Watson, was still recovering from a concussion.

Changes to the forward pack include Lizo Gqoboka, who will return to the side at loosehead prop in place of BG Uys, with Shaun McDonald coming off the bench on at Flank, rotating with Thembelani Boli who moves to the bench.

At the back, Dwayne Jenner makes his Currie Cup debut at inside centre, with Spencer moving Shane Gates to the bench, opting to rest him a little following a high work load.

“We decided to give Dwayne a start as he has been working hard over the past few weeks in training and hopefully he can bring a bit of physicality to our defence as well,” he said.

Tim Whitehead makes his return at outside after a week’s absence from the team due to a knock he took to the knee during the match against the Blue Bulls. Tim’s return sees Ronnie Cooke moving back to wing opposite Siviwe Shakes Soyizwapi, with Siyanda Grey moving onto the bench.

Tim is rested and refreshed and ready to go and Ronnie gives 100% no matter where you put him,” he said.

George Whitehead retains his spot at flyhalf, with Spencer opting to rest Gary van Aswegen for another week following a groin strain that saw Van Aswegen out of contention for the Lions match.

On the bench, CJ van der Linde returns in place of Charles Marais, after recovering from a calf strain.

Spencer said he was expecting a more physical game against Western Province than against the Lions.

“I think Western Province will bring more physicality especially in the air and up front. The will be a threat on attack and will put pressure on us defensively,” he said.

Spencer said the focus would be on holding onto the ball more and put pressure on the defence, as the team was being forced to tackle, which was placing strain on the players.

“If you have to make 250 to 260 tackles a game, it will take its toll, that’s a lot of tackles to make. We just have to play a little but more with ball in hand. I believe that we are fit enough, we’ve put in the hard work so it’s not as if we’re not fit enough we just have to be patient,” he said.

“I think we’ve improved. It’s just a matter of gradually getting better and better, we are gaining confidence as time goes on so hopefully we keep taking a step forward each week and eventually get that win,” he said. 

The EP Kings:

1. Lizo Gqoboka2.Edgar Marutlulle3. TOM BOTHA4. David Bullbring 5. Steven Sykes6. Shaun MacDonald7. Paul Schoeman 8. Aidon Davis9. Kevin Luiters 10. George Whitehead 11.Siviwe Soyizwapi 12. Dwayne Jenner 13. Tim Whitehead 14. Ronnie Cooke 15.Scott van Breda

RESERVES

16. Mike van Vuuren 17. CJ van der Linde18. Thembalani Bholi19. Stefan Willemse20. Tobie Botes21.Shane Gates 22. Siyanda Grey

Late surge secure win for Lions

Despite a solid 60 minute performance from the Eastern Province Kings, and taking the lead just after half time, the Xerox Golden Lions showed the Kings just how easy a game can turn on its head and why they are strong contenders for this years ABSA Currie Cup finals.

The Lions opened the scoring after just two minutes through a driving maul when flanker, Jaco Kriel, scored his teams first try, conversion was successful from Ruan Combrink as the Lions took an early 7 – 0 lead.

The Kings had an opportunity to level the scores 5 minutes later, but a skip pass out wide to Siyanda Grey was called forward by match referee Marius van der Westhuizen as he ran in for the try.

Ten minutes later, Ruan Dreyer scored his teams second try through a similar driving maul as the first, Combrink was on target and the Lions were leading 14 – 0 after 18 minutes.

Again the Kings were unable to finish off a promising skip pass with a man over, as Siviwe Soyizwapi couldn’t hang on to a pass from Scott van Breda as he went through the gap.

The Kings did however get points on the board through a penalty try, as continual ill discipline prevented the Kings from scoring. Van Breda added the extras as the Kings narrowed the gap to a converted try, trailing 7 – 14 with 10 minutes to half time.

The Kings started to build momentum with ball in hand as the Lions had to play with 14 men after captain, Lionel Mapoe, was yellow carded for his teams ill discipline.

Shane Gates gathered a kick and chase as he scored his teams second try a few minutes later, van Breda was on target with the conversion and in doing so equalled the scores to 14 all with 8 minutes to half time.

The two teams ended the first half with a try each, the first through Lions’ Schalk van der Merwe after poor defense from the Kings, Combrink added the extras as the Lions regained a 7 point lead.

The second try came as quick ball went through the Kings’ backs and ended up at Soyizwapi, this time holding on to go over in the corner. Van Breda was unable to add the two points from the touch line conversion as the Kings went into the half time break trailing 19 – 21.

Kings started the second half well as they took a 1 point lead after 5 minutes through a George Whitehead drop goal, leading 22 – 21.

Discipline and a lack of concentration from the Kings allowed the Lions to regain their lead as two penalties gave them a 5 point lead after back to back penalties from Combrink, leading 27 – 22 after 63 minutes.

Man of the match, Franco Mostert scored his teams bonus point try in the 71st minute after continual pressure from the Lions, Combrink was on target with the touch line conversion as they stretched their lead to 34 – 22.

A final attacking scrum from the Lions were too much for the Kings as Derick Minnie dotted down from the push over scrum, on target Combrink kicked his 5th conversion to go with his two penalties, as the game ended 41 – 22.

Scorers:

EP Kings (22) – Tries: Penalty, Gates, Soyizwapi Conversion: van Breda (3)

Xerox Golden Lions (41) – Tries: Kriel, Dreyer, S vd Merwe, Mostert, Minnie Conversion: Combrink (5) Penalties: Combrink (2)