The Kings have called on their big name signings and will bank on the return of their captain Luke Watson to give them a victory in their last preseason match before Super Rugby starts.
Watson has missed most of the Kings’ preseason due to an injury picked up during the Currie Cup last year, and will return just in time to lead his team into their first match against the Force next weekend.
Demetri Catrakilis, the Currie Cup winning flyhalf, gets his chance to prove his worth with the team, and will be looking to cement his place in the starting lineup ahead of the Force match.
Ex-Sharks lock Steven Sykes gets a start in the second row, linking up with David Bulbring. Another ex-Shark, via the Cheetahs, is Andries Struass, who comes into the midfield with another new signing, Ronnie Cooke. Bandise Maku gets a start in the front row.
The Griquas team announced yesterday should give this Kings team a good run, with the Kings desperate to gain some momentum after their loss to the Lions this weekend.
Kings: 15 SP Marais, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Ronnie Cooke, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Siyanda Grey, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Luke Watson (captain), 7 Wimpie van der Walt, 6 Cornel du Preez , 5 Steve Sykes, 4 David Bulbring, 3 Kevin Buys, 2 Bandise Maku, 1 Schalk Ferreira.
Substitutes : Edgar Marutlulle, BG Uys, Jaco Engels, Daniel Adongo, Devin Oosthuizen, Nicolas Vergallo, George Whitehead, Hadleigh Parkes, Marcello Sampson, Johan Herbst.
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I’m not so sure they’ll get a win. They might get close, but I just don’t get the feeling that they will.
It’ll be a good game and their centres are probably better than Griquas but I think the men in peacock hoops will have a stronger pack of forwards. It really does not bode well for SupeRugby.
please no Watson abuse please on this post, we’ve had enough of that to last a lifetime
@Ludz (Comment 2) : Couldn’t agree more. Don’t like the guy but it gets a little old very quickly!!
Well, love them or hate them, this is going to be a cracker of a game! Look forward to it! Kings have the better backline, but the ‘Quas may bleed them dry up front
@Butchie34 (Comment 1) : @Ludz (Comment 2) : @Die Kriek (Comment 4) : Does anybody know if this game is being televised?
Both backlines look like they’ll be full of running. Bulls and Lions game was also a cracker. I like how the young guys are looking to keep the ball alive by offloading in the tackle!
Very interesting to see Sykes at 5….
@Butchie34 (Comment 3) : Can we rather not have any Kings articles then?
@Uli (Comment 7) : Before the end of the year, the Kings will be back in the First Division and won’t be able to come to the big time again with promotion/relegation games in place.
But until then it’s like watching a car wreck with a pair of pricks driving. You know they’re a pair of tools but you don’t have to focus on them, you can look at the wreckage they’ve created!!
@Butchie34 (Comment 8) : thanks for the heads up
Come on Kwasse!
Why did Sykes go to EC anyway? Money?
@klempie (Comment 11) : If I remember correctly he and his family have a farm out there and he can work on the farm and play or something like that.
@Butchie34 (Comment 12) : Oh, ok. Thanks.
Seems like a career limiting move though….what’s he going to do next year?
30-27 to the Kwasse.
@Die Kriek (Comment 14) : AMEN!
I feel for the Kings. Hope they can get one or two wins.
On the other hand, I love the fact that we have a team that will give 5 log points to everybody, unlike the Lions who gave 5 log points to Aus and NZ teams but upset SA teams. The Lions really should only play Currie Cup, it’s not like they pitch for anything other than the derbies.