Will Benhard bring out the Butch in Durban?
Vata Ngobeni Once were warriors! That was a movie that was – powerful and sad at the same time and that is exactly what we will be saying about the Southern Kings next year if reports are true that the Eastern Cape franchise will be cut from Super Rugby.
The irony is that the movie was a New Zealand story based on a Maori family and most of the rumours about the Kings getting the cut in Super Rugby are coming from the Land of the Long White Cloud.
The Kings are a team born of the need to tap into the cradle of black rugby in South Africa, and they have gone a long way in exposing some of that black talent to one of the world’s toughest competitions.
The Kings will survive, they are the ultimate rugby survivors and even when their former head of the throne, Cheeky Watson, was doing everything in his power to close down the franchise and union, they survived.
The Sharks stand in their way tomorrow, ready to devour them in the same cruel way that the Maori head of the family treated his kin in the movie.
At the heart of the Sharks attack on the Kings will be Eastern Cape lads Curwin Bosch, Odwa Ndungane, Tera Mtembu, Lukhanyo Am and Jeremy Ward, all of whom were once warriors in Eastern Cape rugby.
Many have tried on and off the field to cull the Kings and have failed and it is their performances this year that could see them survive yet again.
Cheeky has gone and they have survived, coaches and players have also left and they have survived.
Hell, they were once kicked out of Super Rugby but survive they have.
For now, they are still kings of their fate and the Sharks might be better off taking them on at sea, than on the lush turf of King’s Park! Mike Greenaway Will the Kings reign at Kings Park tomorrow? Let’s be serious, there was a greater chance of Japan beating the Springboks in Brighton. Okay, maybe that is not the best analogy, but you know what I mean.
Let’s just say that a Kings win is not going to happen, not as long as the Sharks have as ruthless a coach as Robert du Preez.
As a player, Du Preez was a rugged scrumhalf who didn’t tolerate any bull dust and was not shy to have a crack at the opposition scrumhalf if he needed to be put in his place.
Du Preez is relentless, he is not going to let the Sharks take a breather because the Kings are so limited.
They are a combination of talented, but inexperienced youngsters and has-beens. Let’s be honest about that. It will be a return visit to Durban for flyhalf Lionel Cronje and centre Waylon Murray, both of whom were released early from their contracts at the Sharks some years ago.
I like the way the Kings approach the game. They are not short on enthusiasm but they are desperately limited in terms of experience, quality across the board and momentum.
On the other hand, the Sharks are on fire. Even though they did not make the Currie Cup semi-finals last year, they blooded a number of youngsters, and tomorrow they will blood a few more.
The Sharks were largely excellent in blowing away the Waratahs last weekend, even if they fell away in the second half. If you had asked any member of the Sharks’ coaching staff before the game if they would accept a 37-14 win, albeit a flawed one, they would have said: “Yes please!”
Watch out for debuting flyhalf Benhard Janse van Rensburg. In the Shark Tank, they are touting him as the new Butch James because of his aggressive tackling.