By GEORGE BYRON
There will have be some serious planning during the off-season if the SA Rugby sponsored Southern Kings Super Rugby project is to get back on track ahead of next season’s Super Rugby.
Taken over by SA Rugby after the cash crisis hit EP Rugby last year, the Southern Kings completed their Super Rugby season by going down 52-24 to the Stormers at Newlands on Saturday.
It was the Kings’ 13th defeat in 15 matches and ended a season where crowds for Super Rugby at Nelson Mandela Stadium fell away as the players battled to keep their heads above water.
They leaked 95 tries and the Kings’ defence was described by former Bok coach and TV analyst Nick Mallett as “catastrophic ” in the build-up to the Cape Town clash.
The showing by the Kings mirrored much of the season when they fell away in the second half after a reasonable showing in the first half of their Newlands clash.
At the break the Stormers enjoyed a 21-10 lead.
Hamstrung by a lack of a proper pre-season training build-up, the Kings have been unable to withstand late surges by the opposition when lack of conditioning starts to take its toll.
“The Kings stay in the game for 60 minutes, but they fall off and they have battled on defence,” said Mallett.
“The one problem that has to be resolved is that so many players are leaving the franchise. Often that is a sign of an unstable environment.
“They tried hard and hung together, but with the Sunwolves they have been the disappointment of this Super Rugby campaign.”
Former Springbok star Naas Botha also weighed in. “Saru needs to address the Kings,” Botha said.
“We keep talking about it and how we are going to solve problems. If it happens this year it can happen next year. What are they building? They are never going to build anything.”
The Kings defence was ripped apart by Huw Jones and Leolin Zas as they scored seven tries between them to secure their team’s win.
“I thought Jones had a super game,” Mallett said.
“He showed good strength with ball in hand. Jones runs really good lines and he passes well and today was his day. Jones just had good support play and he got the passes.
“I must compliment Damian de Allende because we saw many more passes from him than we usually see. It was good to see Damian passing the ball and getting a bit of space to his outside centre,” Mallett said.
Botha said Jones had not only been a finisher, but had created something as well and deserved the man of the match award.
“It was a superb performance,” Botha added.
Match stats showed that Jones beat six defenders and made six line breaks in the game as he tormented the Kings’ defence.
There were three tries for the Kings from Malcolm Jaer, Wandile Mjekevu and Stefan Watermeyer and that took their team’s overall tally for the season to 34.
Even before the win over the Kings, the Stormers had already secured the Africa 1 conference from the Bulls.
While the season comes to an end for the Kings, the Stormers face a tough playoff clash against the Chiefs in Cape Town on Saturday.
Scorers
Stormers 52: Tries: Huw Jones (4), Leolin Zas (3), Brandon Thompson. Conversions: Jean-Luc du Plessis (3), Brandon Thompson (3).
Southern Kings 24: Try: Malcolm Jaer, Wandile Mjekevu, Stefan Watermeyer. Penalty: Dewald Human. Conversions: Human, Elgar Watts (2)
Kings need rethink to get back on track
There will have be some serious planning during the off-season if the SA Rugby sponsored Southern Kings Super Rugby project is to get back on track ahead of next season’s Super Rugby.
Taken over by SA Rugby after the cash crisis hit EP Rugby last year, the Southern Kings completed their Super Rugby season by going down 52-24 to the Stormers at Newlands on Saturday.
It was the Kings’ 13th defeat in 15 matches and ended a season where crowds for Super Rugby at Nelson Mandela Stadium fell away as the players battled to keep their heads above water.
They leaked 95 tries and the Kings’ defence was described by former Bok coach and TV analyst Nick Mallett as “catastrophic ” in the build-up to the Cape Town clash.
The showing by the Kings mirrored much of the season when they fell away in the second half after a reasonable showing in the first half of their Newlands clash.
At the break the Stormers enjoyed a 21-10 lead.
Hamstrung by a lack of a proper pre-season training build-up, the Kings have been unable to withstand late surges by the opposition when lack of conditioning starts to take its toll.
“The Kings stay in the game for 60 minutes, but they fall off and they have battled on defence,” said Mallett.
“The one problem that has to be resolved is that so many players are leaving the franchise. Often that is a sign of an unstable environment.
“They tried hard and hung together, but with the Sunwolves they have been the disappointment of this Super Rugby campaign.”
Former Springbok star Naas Botha also weighed in. “Saru needs to address the Kings,” Botha said.
“We keep talking about it and how we are going to solve problems. If it happens this year it can happen next year. What are they building? They are never going to build anything.”
The Kings defence was ripped apart by Huw Jones and Leolin Zas as they scored seven tries between them to secure their team’s win.
“I thought Jones had a super game,” Mallett said.
“He showed good strength with ball in hand. Jones runs really good lines and he passes well and today was his day. Jones just had good support play and he got the passes.
“I must compliment Damian de Allende because we saw many more passes from him than we usually see. It was good to see Damian passing the ball and getting a bit of space to his outside centre,” Mallett said.
Botha said Jones had not only been a finisher, but had created something as well and deserved the man of the match award.
“It was a superb performance,” Botha added.
Match stats showed that Jones beat six defenders and made six line breaks in the game as he tormented the Kings’ defence.
There were three tries for the Kings from Malcolm Jaer, Wandile Mjekevu and Stefan Watermeyer and that took their team’s overall tally for the season to 34.
Even before the win over the Kings, the Stormers had already secured the Africa 1 conference from the Bulls.
While the season comes to an end for the Kings, the Stormers face a tough playoff clash against the Chiefs in Cape Town on Saturday.
Scorers
Stormers 52: Tries: Huw Jones (4), Leolin Zas (3), Brandon Thompson. Conversions: Jean-Luc du Plessis (3), Brandon Thompson (3).
Southern Kings 24: Try: Malcolm Jaer, Wandile Mjekevu, Stefan Watermeyer. Penalty: Dewald Human. Conversions: Human, Elgar Watts (2)
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