TWO of Super Rugby's brightest prospects will come face-to-face for the first time when the Southern Kings lock horns with the Rebels in Melbourne today (kick-off 11:40am).
On one side will be teen Kings try- scoring sensation Sergeal Petersen while the dynamic Jason Woodward will be lining up for the Rebels in what promises to be an epic battle.
After scoring two tries against the Western Force on his Super Rugby debut and another against the Chiefs, Petersen has not been able to add to his tally during his team’s opening three matches on their overseas tour.
Try-hungry Petersen has not seen much of the ball in attacking positions recently, but with the Kings expected to adopt a more adventurous approach against the Rebels that is expected to change.
While much expectation hangs over Petersen’s 18-year-old shoulders, the same can be said of his 22-year-old opponent Woodward.
The hard-running Woodward started on the right wing against the Western Force last Saturday and scored two tries as the Rebels won 30-23 over their arch-rivals.
It was an impressive showing and the Rebels believe they have unearthed a new strike weapon that provides the springboard for a move up the league table.
Woodward, who won the man of the match award against the Force, will certainly pose problems for the much-vaunted Kings defence which has been severely tested during their opening six matches.
Woodward, a New Zealander, left under- pressure Rebels coach Damien Hill with a beaming smile on his face after the match.
The Kings team for the Rebels game has remained relatively unchanged from the team that took on the Brumbies last weekend, with the only changes being Demetri Catrakilis and Shaun Venter, who return to the starting fifteen.
Kings director of rugby Alan Solomons said they had fundamentally decided to go with the same team following the game against the Brumbies.
“The structure of the 22 worked really well and the team put on a great performance against the Brumbies last week,” he said.
Solomons said the only changes were Catrakilis and Venter, who came back on to start, with Siviwe “Shakes” Soyizwapi and Nicolas Vergallo, who moved back to the bench.
“Demetri returns to flyhalf, with George moving back to fullback, while Shakes, who did really well for his debut, takes a spot on the bench,” he said.
Solomons said the team had built a good foundation in the game against the Brumbies and were looking to keep the momentum moving forward.
“W e delivered a good performance against the Brumbies and we now want to build on that,” he said.
Teams:
Southern Kings: George Whitehead, Ronnie Cooke, Waylon Murray, Andries Strauss (captain), Sergeal Petersen, Demetri Catrakilis, Shaun Venter, Schalk Ferreira, Hannes Franklin, Grant Kemp, Devin Oosthuizen, Steven Sykes, Rynier Bernardo, Wimpie van der Walt, Cornell du Preez. Replacements: Bandise Maku, Kevin Buys, David Bulbring, Jacques Engelbrecht, Nicolas Vergallo, Marcello Sampson, Siviwe Soyizwapi
Melbourne Rebels: Nic Henderson, Ged Robinson, Paul Alo-Emile, Hugh Pyle, Cadeyrn Neville, Luke Jones, Scott Fuglistaller, Scott Higginbotham (c), Nick Phipps, James O'Connor, Cooper Vuna, Rory Sidey, Mitch Inman, Jason Woodward, Richard Kingi. Replacements: Shota Horie, Laurie Weeks, Jordy Reid, Jarrod Saffy, Nic Stirzaker, Lachlan Mitchell, Angus Roberts.
Referee: Andrew Lees (Australia).
Kings relish Rebels
On one side will be teen Kings try- scoring sensation Sergeal Petersen while the dynamic Jason Woodward will be lining up for the Rebels in what promises to be an epic battle.
After scoring two tries against the Western Force on his Super Rugby debut and another against the Chiefs, Petersen has not been able to add to his tally during his team’s opening three matches on their overseas tour.
Try-hungry Petersen has not seen much of the ball in attacking positions recently, but with the Kings expected to adopt a more adventurous approach against the Rebels that is expected to change.
While much expectation hangs over Petersen’s 18-year-old shoulders, the same can be said of his 22-year-old opponent Woodward.
The hard-running Woodward started on the right wing against the Western Force last Saturday and scored two tries as the Rebels won 30-23 over their arch-rivals.
It was an impressive showing and the Rebels believe they have unearthed a new strike weapon that provides the springboard for a move up the league table.
Woodward, who won the man of the match award against the Force, will certainly pose problems for the much-vaunted Kings defence which has been severely tested during their opening six matches.
Woodward, a New Zealander, left under- pressure Rebels coach Damien Hill with a beaming smile on his face after the match.
The Kings team for the Rebels game has remained relatively unchanged from the team that took on the Brumbies last weekend, with the only changes being Demetri Catrakilis and Shaun Venter, who return to the starting fifteen.
Kings director of rugby Alan Solomons said they had fundamentally decided to go with the same team following the game against the Brumbies.
“The structure of the 22 worked really well and the team put on a great performance against the Brumbies last week,” he said.
Solomons said the only changes were Catrakilis and Venter, who came back on to start, with Siviwe “Shakes” Soyizwapi and Nicolas Vergallo, who moved back to the bench.
“Demetri returns to flyhalf, with George moving back to fullback, while Shakes, who did really well for his debut, takes a spot on the bench,” he said.
Solomons said the team had built a good foundation in the game against the Brumbies and were looking to keep the momentum moving forward.
“W e delivered a good performance against the Brumbies and we now want to build on that,” he said.
Teams:
Southern Kings: George Whitehead, Ronnie Cooke, Waylon Murray, Andries Strauss (captain), Sergeal Petersen, Demetri Catrakilis, Shaun Venter, Schalk Ferreira, Hannes Franklin, Grant Kemp, Devin Oosthuizen, Steven Sykes, Rynier Bernardo, Wimpie van der Walt, Cornell du Preez. Replacements: Bandise Maku, Kevin Buys, David Bulbring, Jacques Engelbrecht, Nicolas Vergallo, Marcello Sampson, Siviwe Soyizwapi
Melbourne Rebels: Nic Henderson, Ged Robinson, Paul Alo-Emile, Hugh Pyle, Cadeyrn Neville, Luke Jones, Scott Fuglistaller, Scott Higginbotham (c), Nick Phipps, James O'Connor, Cooper Vuna, Rory Sidey, Mitch Inman, Jason Woodward, Richard Kingi. Replacements: Shota Horie, Laurie Weeks, Jordy Reid, Jarrod Saffy, Nic Stirzaker, Lachlan Mitchell, Angus Roberts.
Referee: Andrew Lees (Australia).
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