Southern Kings coach Deon Davids on Thursday named his team to take on Edinburgh in the PRO14 championship at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Friday evening.
Amongst those missing from the side that did duty against Scarlets last weekend was flyhalf Oliver Zono, who unfortunately sustained a concussion during the Scarlets fixture which causes his unavailability for selection to be mandatory.
Zono’s place in the number 10 jersey is taken by Kurt Coleman, who returns to the position where he was incumbent before an injury of his own ruled him out for a while.
In the only other change to the backline, centre Harlon Klaasen is rewarded for a strong showing off the bench against Scarlets by being named in the starting XV. He takes over from Martin Du Toit who sits this one out due to a shoulder injury.
In a show of confidence in his forwards, Coach Davids has retained the entire pack that started the match against Scarlets. There is a minor shuffle in the bench where Giant Mtyanda comes in for Jurie Van Vuuren. Van Vuuren broke his nose during the last match and it was decided not to risk him against Edinburgh this weekend. The Kings will once again be captained by loose-head prop Schalk Ferreira.
The unusually short turn-around time between the Kings match against Scarlets last Sunday and the upcoming Friday fixture against Edinburgh did create a few selection dilemmas acknowledged Southern Kings Head Coach Deon Davids.
“We’ve only been able to get in two days of training which isn’t a lot of time to work on our areas of concern and, of course, when it comes to selection, you have to balance the need for team momentum and continuity against the workloads that various individuals have been carrying and their need for recovery. It has been a bit of a challenge” he said.
Coach Davids was in no doubt that Edinburgh would present a stiff challenge to his team (“there are no easy games in an international competition like the GUINNESS PRO14”) but felt his side was improving all the time and had it in them to win.
“My main message to the team this week has been that they must show patience when on attack and endeavour to play in the right areas of the park. We did a lot of good stuff against Scarlets but spent too much time in our own half. We also need to keep our mistakes to a minimum,” he added
It’s most unusual for there to be competitive international (15 man!) rugby action in South Africa during the month of December and the Kings will be hoping their fans heed the call to #kickoffsummer and turn out to support them against the Scottish visitors. The match against Edinburgh kicks off at 19h15 on Friday evening and gates open at 17h00. Tickets are available online at www.ticketpros.co.za and also at all TicketPro outlets
Kings team: 15 Yaw Penxe, 14 Michael Makase, 13 Harlon Klaasen, 12 Berton Klaasen, 11 Anthony Volmink, 10 Kurt Coleman, 9 Rudi van Rooyen, 8 RuaanLerm, 7 Martinus Burger, 6 Andisa Ntsila, 5 Bobby De Wee, 4 Stephan Greeff, 3 Rossouw De Klerk, 2 Stephan Coetzee, 1 Schalk Ferreira (captain)
Substitutes: 16 Alandre Van Rooyen, 17 Luvuyo Pupuma, 18 Pieter Scholtz, 19 Lubabalo Mtyanda, 20 Dries van Schalkwyk, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 Barend Janse van Rensburg, 23 Jacques Nel – African News Agency (ANA)
