Bidding for their first win of the season Southern Kings head coach Deon Davids has made five changes to his starting line-up to face the Hurricanes on Friday.
Davids made several substitutions when the Kings lost to the Crusaders and there will be fresh legs in the team that runs onto the field at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington.
Prop Sti Sithole moves up from the bench to replace Schalk Ferreira, who came off the field against the Crusaders in the 8th minute with a concussion.
The hard-working CJ Velleman also comes off the bench to take the place of Chris Cloete, who moves to the bench, in a rotational change by Davids.
Burly Stefan Willemse joins the team alongside Velleman at flank, replacing Thembelani Bholi, who returned to South Africa after being diagnosed with a hamstring tear following the Crusaders match.
A change in the backs sees scrumhalf Ntando Kebe return to the starting line up with Kevin Luiters, who started against the Crusaders, moving to the bench in another rotational move.
The fifth change sees Edgar Marutlulle return to the starting line-up in the place of Martin Ferreira.
Martin Bezuidenhoudt comes onto the bench as replacement hooker, with Justin Ackerman also on the bench as replacement prop.
After missing the game against the Sharks because of injury, scrumhalf Luiters started off the bench against the Chiefs.
Luiters was then given a start against the Crusaders, but he was substituted after 46 minutes by Kebe, who started in both the previous matches against the Sharks and Chiefs.
Before the Crusaders game Davids made it clear that Marutlulle had not been left out of the starting line-up because of a poor showing in the previous game against the Chiefs.
“Edgar put in a sterling performance against the Chiefs last week and the move is in no way an indictment on his performance,” Davids said.
“Ntando has started for us in two games now, so it’s more of a rotational move, with Kevin also bringing a bit of experience to the field,” Davids said ahead of the Crusaders clash.
The Hurricanes, who have won two of the four games they have played, beat the Western Force 41-6 in their last outing.
When they return to South Africa the Kings will face fellow strugglers the Sunwolves at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on April 2.
THE KINGS TEAM:
Jurgen Visser, Luzuko Vulindlu, Stefan Watermeyer, Shane Gates, Malcolm Jaer, Louis Fouche, Ntando Kebe, Jacques Engelbrecht, Stefan Willemse, CJ Velleman, JC Astle, Steven Sykes (capt), Jacobie Adriaanse Edgar Marutlulle, Sti Sithole. Replacements: Martin Bezuidenhoudt, Justin Ackerman, Tom Botha, Schalk Oelofse, Chris Cloete, Kevin Luiters, Elgar Watts, JP Du Plessis.
This weekend’s fixtures: Friday: 8.35am Hurricanes vs Southern Kings (Westpac Stadium, Wellington).
Saturday: 8.35am Chiefs vs Force (FMG Stadium, Hamilton), 10.45am Rebels v Highlanders (AAMI Park, Melbourne), 12.55pm - Sunwolves vs Bulls (Singapore National Stadium), 3.05pm Cheetahs v Brumbies (Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein), 5.15pm Sharks v Crusaders (Kings Park, Durban), 11.40pm: Jaguares v DHL Stormers (Velez Sarsfield Stadium, Buenos Aires).
Kings coach calls his men to arms
Davids made several substitutions when the Kings lost to the Crusaders and there will be fresh legs in the team that runs onto the field at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington.
Prop Sti Sithole moves up from the bench to replace Schalk Ferreira, who came off the field against the Crusaders in the 8th minute with a concussion.
The hard-working CJ Velleman also comes off the bench to take the place of Chris Cloete, who moves to the bench, in a rotational change by Davids.
Burly Stefan Willemse joins the team alongside Velleman at flank, replacing Thembelani Bholi, who returned to South Africa after being diagnosed with a hamstring tear following the Crusaders match.
A change in the backs sees scrumhalf Ntando Kebe return to the starting line up with Kevin Luiters, who started against the Crusaders, moving to the bench in another rotational move.
The fifth change sees Edgar Marutlulle return to the starting line-up in the place of Martin Ferreira.
Martin Bezuidenhoudt comes onto the bench as replacement hooker, with Justin Ackerman also on the bench as replacement prop.
After missing the game against the Sharks because of injury, scrumhalf Luiters started off the bench against the Chiefs.
Luiters was then given a start against the Crusaders, but he was substituted after 46 minutes by Kebe, who started in both the previous matches against the Sharks and Chiefs.
Before the Crusaders game Davids made it clear that Marutlulle had not been left out of the starting line-up because of a poor showing in the previous game against the Chiefs.
“Edgar put in a sterling performance against the Chiefs last week and the move is in no way an indictment on his performance,” Davids said.
“Ntando has started for us in two games now, so it’s more of a rotational move, with Kevin also bringing a bit of experience to the field,” Davids said ahead of the Crusaders clash.
The Hurricanes, who have won two of the four games they have played, beat the Western Force 41-6 in their last outing.
When they return to South Africa the Kings will face fellow strugglers the Sunwolves at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on April 2.
THE KINGS TEAM:
Jurgen Visser, Luzuko Vulindlu, Stefan Watermeyer, Shane Gates, Malcolm Jaer, Louis Fouche, Ntando Kebe, Jacques Engelbrecht, Stefan Willemse, CJ Velleman, JC Astle, Steven Sykes (capt), Jacobie Adriaanse Edgar Marutlulle, Sti Sithole. Replacements: Martin Bezuidenhoudt, Justin Ackerman, Tom Botha, Schalk Oelofse, Chris Cloete, Kevin Luiters, Elgar Watts, JP Du Plessis.
This weekend’s fixtures: Friday: 8.35am Hurricanes vs Southern Kings (Westpac Stadium, Wellington).
Saturday: 8.35am Chiefs vs Force (FMG Stadium, Hamilton), 10.45am Rebels v Highlanders (AAMI Park, Melbourne), 12.55pm - Sunwolves vs Bulls (Singapore National Stadium), 3.05pm Cheetahs v Brumbies (Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein), 5.15pm Sharks v Crusaders (Kings Park, Durban), 11.40pm: Jaguares v DHL Stormers (Velez Sarsfield Stadium, Buenos Aires).
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