FIERY Luke Watson has been dropped to the bench for the Southern Kings’ crunch Super Rugby showdown against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
Kings director of rugby Alan Solomons described the switch as a “horses for courses” decision, which was part of a plan for Watson’s full re- entry into Super Rugby.
Even though Watson will be sitting on the bench when the match kicks off, Solomons said there was “no question” that he would play at some point in the game.
Watson led the Kings against the Bulls on Saturday, but was substituted after 44 minutes as his team slumped to a heavy 34-0 defeat.
The captaincy has now been handed back to centre Andries Strauss in what is shaping up into a “must win” encounter for the rookie fran chise.
Watson’s place in the starting line-up at No 8 has been taken by Jacques “Vleis” Engelbrecht, who is a firm favourite with crowds at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
Asked whether the decision to start with Watson against the Bulls after a long injury layoff had been premature, Solomons said he had drawn on his experience of similar sit uations.
“For the Bulls game it was a question of whether Luke would get 40 to 45 minutes in a home game at night,” said Solomons.
“We looked at it not in terms of a single game. We are looking at it game by game as part of Luke’s full re- entry into Super Rugby.
“It will take two to three games before he is playing a full 80 minutes and we felt our decision was appropriate for the Bulls game.
“For this match we are playing at altitude against a side that plays with a massive physical tempo.
“We feel it more appropriate for Luke to come off the bench against Free State. It is a question of horses for courses,” said Solomons.
The Kings director of rugby said Watson had suffered a bad ankle injury towards the end of last season that had forced him to miss a couple of games.
“This sea son, in our first game against the Force, Luke frac tured a bone in his throat which flapped over his air passage. That made things difficult and training impossible.
“Luke has worked very hard and is an excellent professional and very diligent. He got his fitness up to speed while we were on our over seas tour.
“He is our captain and an international player with a lot of Super Rugby experience. We have discussed the matter with the conditioning and medical staff and these are all part of our plans for Luke’s full re- entry into Super Rug by,” said Solomons.
The team is: George Whitehead; Michael Ki illian, Ronnie Cooke, Andries Strauss (cap tain), Siyanda Grey, Demetri Catrakilis, Shaun Venter, Schalk Ferreira, Bandise Maku, Kevin Buys, Cornell du Preez, Steven Sykes (vice-capt), Rynier Bernardo, Wimpie van der Walt, Jacques Eng elbrecht.
Replacements: Virgile Lacombe, Grant Kemp, David Bulbring, Luke Watson, Nicolas Vergal lo, Waylon Murray, Sivi we Soyizwapi
Watson to start on the bench against Cheetahs
Kings director of rugby Alan Solomons described the switch as a “horses for courses” decision, which was part of a plan for Watson’s full re- entry into Super Rugby.
Even though Watson will be sitting on the bench when the match kicks off, Solomons said there was “no question” that he would play at some point in the game.
Watson led the Kings against the Bulls on Saturday, but was substituted after 44 minutes as his team slumped to a heavy 34-0 defeat.
The captaincy has now been handed back to centre Andries Strauss in what is shaping up into a “must win” encounter for the rookie fran chise.
Watson’s place in the starting line-up at No 8 has been taken by Jacques “Vleis” Engelbrecht, who is a firm favourite with crowds at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
Asked whether the decision to start with Watson against the Bulls after a long injury layoff had been premature, Solomons said he had drawn on his experience of similar sit uations.
“For the Bulls game it was a question of whether Luke would get 40 to 45 minutes in a home game at night,” said Solomons.
“We looked at it not in terms of a single game. We are looking at it game by game as part of Luke’s full re- entry into Super Rugby.
“It will take two to three games before he is playing a full 80 minutes and we felt our decision was appropriate for the Bulls game.
“For this match we are playing at altitude against a side that plays with a massive physical tempo.
“We feel it more appropriate for Luke to come off the bench against Free State. It is a question of horses for courses,” said Solomons.
The Kings director of rugby said Watson had suffered a bad ankle injury towards the end of last season that had forced him to miss a couple of games.
“This sea son, in our first game against the Force, Luke frac tured a bone in his throat which flapped over his air passage. That made things difficult and training impossible.
“Luke has worked very hard and is an excellent professional and very diligent. He got his fitness up to speed while we were on our over seas tour.
“He is our captain and an international player with a lot of Super Rugby experience. We have discussed the matter with the conditioning and medical staff and these are all part of our plans for Luke’s full re- entry into Super Rug by,” said Solomons.
The team is: George Whitehead; Michael Ki illian, Ronnie Cooke, Andries Strauss (cap tain), Siyanda Grey, Demetri Catrakilis, Shaun Venter, Schalk Ferreira, Bandise Maku, Kevin Buys, Cornell du Preez, Steven Sykes (vice-capt), Rynier Bernardo, Wimpie van der Walt, Jacques Eng elbrecht.
Replacements: Virgile Lacombe, Grant Kemp, David Bulbring, Luke Watson, Nicolas Vergal lo, Waylon Murray, Sivi we Soyizwapi
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