Luke and CJ to make an impact off the bench

Eastern Province Kings coach, Mzwandile Stick has called on the services of two of his most experienced players ahead of their crucial Vodacom Cup match against the SWD Eagles at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth later today.

The fifth placed Kings are still in with a chance to reach the play-offs, but a solid win against the fourth placed Eagles is a must if they want to qualify in the top four. The Eagles are currently on 11 log points, 3 points ahead of the Kings, and a mere win will not be good enough as the Eagles have a better points difference which means they will remain in fourth place if log points are level.

Stick and skipper Tim Whitehead said the experience of Luke Watson and CJ van der Linde would be crucial in what is shaping up as a massive showdown between the neighbouring provinces.

“We will probably give Luke about 20 to 30 minutes and CJ about 20 minutes, but it will all depend on how the game goes,” Stick said. 

“Both of them cannot wait to get back and they have been working hard with the team. Luke is ready to go and CJ may not be quite there, but we will use him for a short while to counteract their strong forwards.”

An indication of what the Eagles are planning comes in their squad, with a five-two forwards-backs split on the bench.

“We know they will try to attack us up front because they have big and physical forwards, but we are prepared for that,” Stick said.

The match kicks off at 3pm.

EP Kings: 

1 Lizo Gqoboka 2 Edgar Marutlulle (v/c) 3 Simon Kerrod 4 Cameron Lindsay 5 David Bulbring 6 Paul Schoeman 7 Stefan Willemse 8 Tim Agaba 9 Jaco Grobler 10 Tony Jantjies 11 Luther Obi 12 Tim Whitehead (capt) 13 Ronnie Cooke 14 Siviwe Soyizwapi 15  Scott van Breda

Replacements: 

16 Mike van Vuuren 17  CJ van der Linde 18  Aidon Davis 19 Luke Watson 20 Dylon Frylinck 21  Hansie Graaff 22 Siyanda Grey

SWD Eagles: 

1 Marius Fourie 2 Kurt Haupt 3 Ashley Buys 4 Andries van der Walt 5 Mzwanele Zito 6 Johannes Stander 7 Davon Raubenheimer (capt) 8 Zandre Jordaan 9 Dwayne Kelly 10 Gerhardus Smith 11 Alshaun Bock 12 Luzuko Vulindlu 13 Kirsten Heyns 14 Clinton Wagman 15 Elric van Vuuren

Replacements: 

16 Layle Delo 17 Raoul Larson 18 Alwyn Bester 19 Andisa Ntsila 20 Buran Parks 21 Leighton Eksteen 22 Martin du Toit

Kings still with an outside chance to reach play-offs

A convincing win over the fourth placed SWD Eagles on Saturday will leave the Eastern Province Kings with a fighting chance to reach the quarter-finals as the Vodacom Cup season draws to an end.

The Kings are currently fifth on the South Section log with eight points, three points behind fourth placed Eagles. The Eagles are in a better position with a positive twenty four points difference on the log, so a mere win will not be good enough for the Kings if they want to reach the play-offs.

The Kings still need to face seventh placed Boland in an away fixture next week and sixth placed Sharks at home on the 8th of May. The Eagles still have to play bottom of the log Border at home and top of the log Western Province in Cape Town in their remaining fixtures.

Kings coach Mzwandile Sick has made a few changes to his starting lineup, which sees experienced centre Ronnie Cooke in for Hansie Graaff and Tony Jantjies in for Gary van Aswegen at fly half.

Amongst the forwards, Stefan Willemse replaces Thembelani Bholi at flank and Cameron Lindsay comes in for Tazz Fuzani at lock.

Stick also named a strong bench which sees experienced prop CJ van der Linde, Aidon Davis and the long awaited return of Luke Watson.

Kick-off is at 3pm. 

EP Kings:

15 Scott van Breda 14 Siviwe Soyizwapi 13 Ronnie Cooke 12 Tim Whithead 11 Luther Obi 10 Tony Jantjies 9 Jaco Grobler 8 Tim Agaba 7 Stefan Willemse 6 Paul Schoeman 5 David Bulbring 4 Cameron Lindsay 3 Simon Kerrod 2 Edgar Marutlulle 1 Lizo Gqoboka

Replacements:

16 Micheal van Vuuren 17 CJ van der Linde 18 Aidon Davis 19 Luke Watson 20 Dylon Frylinck 21 Hansie Graaff 22 Siyanda Grey

Free State pips Kings in Bloem

The Free State XV ran in seven tries to five against the Eastern Province Kings in a high scoring Vodacom Cup match at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

The loss left the Kings fifth on the South Section log, with only one win after four games, but a win this coming weekend will move them into fourth and still give them a slight chance to reach the play-offs.

Former Southern Kings players, Sergeal Petersen and Shaun Venter scored first half tries as the Free State took a one point lead, 21 - 20, into the half time break.

Kings captain, Tim Whitehead scored two second half tries along with a late penalty from Scott van Breda in the eighty second minute to secure a losing bonus point as the game ended 50 - 45 in favour of the home team.

Van Breda converted all four of his team's tries and a further three penalties to bring his total tally to seventeen points.

The Kings are three points behind fourth placed SWD Eagles on 11 and three points ahead of sixth placed Sharks on 5.

The Kings will face the Eagles at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday. Kick-off is at 3pm.

Scorers:

Free State (21) 50 - Tries:  Joubert Engelbrecht, JP du Plessis, Ludwig Erasmus, Sergeal Petersen (2) Shaun Venter, Zingisa April. Conversions: Niel Marais (6). Penalty: Ludwig Erasmus.

EP Kings (20) 45 - Tries: Luther Obi, Siviwe Soyizwapi,Tim Agaba, Tim Whitehead (2). Conversions: Scott van Breda (4). Penalties: Scott van Breda (3), Gary van Aswgen (1).

Rugby stands together against Xenophobia

The president of the South African Rugby Union (SARU) has called on the sport to mobilise in support of the campaign to end xenophobic attacks on foreign residents.

Mr Oregan Hoskins threw the weight of the sport into the public opposition to the outbreak of attacks in KwaZulu-Natal and Johannesburg that have shocked South Africa and the global community.

“Rugby shares the horror and dismay that has greeted these horrific attacks on people whose only aim is to make a better life for themselves and their families in a country that is supposed to be a watchword for tolerance and freedom,” said Mr Hoskins.

“Rugby is not a political organisation, and we cannot solve these problems, but we can add our voice to the rest of civic South Africa who are appalled at the violence and lack of humanity that these attacks have betrayed. “I would call on all those involved in rugby to make a stand in whatever small way they can to demonstrate that we abhor both the sentiment and the actions that have generated these disgraceful and shaming actions.”

Mr Hoskins said that he was discussing plans to make a more public statement from the sport over the coming days.

He said: “We join others in asking: is this the legacy that Nelson Mandela and so many others fought for in the struggle? Is this how we repay our African brothers who supported us in the fight for our own freedom? “The criminals and opportunists responsible for the violence and for fermenting intolerance have dragged the name of South Africa through the mud. We support the Government’s efforts to root them out and demonstrate that xenophobia has no home in South Africa.”

National captain Jean de Villiers added the voice of the Springboks to the president’s call.

“As international sportsmen we meet and play with and against people of many different nationalities,” said De Villiers. “It is a privilege that has enriched my life and that of all Springbok rugby players and this shocking outbreak is definitely not what Springbok rugby or we as South Africans represent. “I would add to the president’s call by asking everyone involved in rugby to add their voice to the opposition to these actions by it with a Tweet using the hashtag #sportagainstxenophobia, by positing to their Facebook page or just in conversation with everyone with whom they come into contact. We have to make it clear that these actions are not what South Africans stand for.”

Mr Hoskins added that he trusted that the national outpouring of outrage against the attacks would lead to an immediate end to the violence and tension.

Whitehead to lead the Kings against Cheetahs

The Eastern Province Kings made several injury-enforced changes to their starting lineup, which includes a new captain and vice-captain, to face the Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday evening.

Centre Tim Whitehead will captain the side after he replaced Shane Gates, who left the field on Saturday against Western Province with an ankle injury. Helping him lead from the front will be hooker Edgar Marutlulle, who is taking over the vice-captaincy role from Tim Agaba.

"Tim is a player with good communication skills, he knows how to communicate with other players and he is a strong character and comfortable with all the players."

“The same applies to Edgar. We feel he will be able to communicate well with the ref and with the players,” said Kings coach Mzwandile Stick.

Changes to the backline sees, Scott van Breda, Luther Obi and Gary van Aswegen all making their return to the starting lineup. 

At fullback van Breda comes in for Sylvina Mahuza. Obi returns to the wing after recovering from an injury and flyhalf van Aswegen, who has made a full recovery from a concussion he picked up against Border, is fit to take up the pivot role replacing George Whitehead. 

There still remains uncertainty if Siyanda Grey will be fit to play after he battled with flu earlier in the week, if not, Siviwe Soyizwapi will start on the right wing.

Amongst the forwards, David Bulbring comes off the bench swopping places with Cameron Lindsay, with the latter moving to the bench. Prop Simon Kerrod replaces Tom Botha at tight head and Edgar Maruthlulle replaces Martin Ferreira at hooker. 

Kick-off is at 16:30 and will be televised live on Super Sport 210.

EP Kings:

15 Scott van Breda 14 Siyanda Grey/Siviwe Soyizwapi 13 Hansie Graaff 12 Tim Whitehead (capt) 11 Luther Obi 10 Gary van Aswegen 9 Jaco Grobler 8 Tim Agaba 7 Thembelani Bholi 6 Paul Schoeman 5 David Bulbring 4 Tazz Fuzani 3 Simon Kerrod 2 Edgar Marutlulle (v/c) 1 Lizo Gqoboka

Replacements:

16 Mike van Vuuren 17 Enoch Mnyaka/Vukile Sofisa 18 Cameron Lindsay 19 Stefan Willemse 20 Dylon Frylinck 21 Tony Jantjies 22 Ronnie Cooke

Province keep top spot after beating Kings

The DHL Western Province kept their unbeaten record intact when they faced the Eastern Province Kings in a round 5 Vodacom Cup match at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday evening.

The home team outscored the visitors from Cape Town two tries to one, but a lack of discipline in the first half allowed Western Province to kick four penalties as they took a 12 - 5 lead at half time.

Province's flyhalf Jean-Luc du Plessis opened the scoring when he kicked a penalty in the 5th minute to give his team a 3 point lead.

The Kings suffered at the break down as a lack of players caused a number of turnovers early on. Dispite dominating at scrum time the Kings were battling at the lineouts losing out on scoring opportunities.

Du Plessis stretched Province's lead to 6 when he kicked his team's second penalty in the 30th minute.

Five minutes later Kings scored their first try through flyhalf George Whitehead, after continuous pressure on Province's try line. Whitehead missed the extras as they trailed 5 - 6 with five minutes to half time.

Province stretched their lead to four points as du Plessis kicked another penalty a minute from half time, taking a 9 - 5 lead.

Numerous warnings from the referee resulted in a yellow card as Kings hooker, Martin Ferreira, was sin binned on half time. Du Plessis kicked his fourth penalty as Province took a 12 - 5 lead at half time.

Replacement Scott van Breda kicked the Kings' second penalty ten minutes into the second half, as they trailed 8 - 12 on the 50th minute.

The Kings took the lead for the first time after a chip kick from Hansie Graaff was gathered by fullback Sylvian Mahuza, the conversion was missed by van Breda as they took a 13 - 12 lead with a quarter of the game remaining.

Province piled on the pressure as the game reached the final stages and eventually regained the lead after they camped on the Kings' try line. Scrumhalf Godlen Masimla stepped his way over the try line for their first points in the second half. Du Plessis was on target as he added the extras to give Province a 19 - 13 lead with ten minutes to play.

The Kings had one last opportunity in the dying seconds as they gained precious meters deep inside Province's twenty two. Graaff tried to put the ball behind the Province defense but rolled into the in-goal as the ball was dotted down after the final hooter. 

The game ended 19 - 13 as Province keep their unbeaten record and the top spot in the South Section.

Scorers:

EP Kings: (5) 13 - Tries George Whitehead, Sylvian Mahuza. Penalty Scott van Breda.

DHL Western Province: (12) 19 - Tries: Godlen Masimla. Conversion: Jean-Luc du Plessis. Penalties Jean-Luc Plessis (4).

New half-back pairing to face Province

The Eastern Province Kings have made five changes to their starting lineup to face the unbeaten Western Province in their Vodacom Cup clash at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday evening.

At fullback Sylvain Mahuza returns to the starting lineup to replace Scott van Breda who moves to the bench.

A new half-back combination sees Jaco Grobler and George Whitehead replacing Kevin Luiters and Gary van Aswegen respectively. Grobler is a straight swop with Luiters who moves to the bench and Van Aswegen is still unavailable after he left the field against Border with a concussion.

In the front row, Tom Botha replaces Simon Kerrod and Lizo Gqoboka swop places with Charles Marais who drops to the bench.

David Bullbring and Tim Whitehead are the only newcomers to the bench.

Kick-off is at 7pm.

EP Kings:

15 Sylvian Mahuza 14  Siviwe Soyizwapi 13  Hansie Graaff 12. Shane Gates (C) 11 Siyanda Grey 10 George Whitehead 9 Jaco Grobler 8 Tim Agaba (VC) 7 Thembelani Bholi 6 Paul Schoeman 5 Cameron Lindsay 4 Tazz Fuzani 3 Tom Botha 2 Martin Ferreira 1 Lizo Gqoboka

Replacements:

16 Edgar Marutlulle 17 Charles Marais 18 David Bullbring 19 Stefan Willemse 20 Kevin Luiters 21 Tim Whitehead 22 Scott van Breda