Hard effort in pre-season has Kings in a good space
SOUTHERN Kings head coach Deon Davids says his players have responded well to an energy-sapping programme of varied and demanding pre-season Super Rugby training drills.
The Kings return from their festive season break on January 9 to continue their preparations for their opening match against the Jaguares in Port Elizabeth on February 25.
“We are very fortunate to have had a proper pre-season this year, which is something we did not have last year,” said Davids.
“The coaches, especially our conditioning coach Nardus Nieuwoudt, have done such a great job in coming up with a fantastic conditioning programme and the players have responded very well.”
When the players return to duty they will head off to a training camp in East London before playing three friendlies.
After the training camp they will have a match against Border before further warm-up outings against the Stormers in Cape Town and the SWD Eagles in Port Elizabeth.
The match against Border will take place in East London on February 4 and Davids will welcome this early chance to test his players in match conditions.
Nieuwoudt said the Kings had introduced new elements to their training which included off-sight training, sprint coaching, MMA (mixed martial arts) and dune running sessions.
“Everything has been going well. The first phase consisted of a three-week block where the focus was on strength and size in the gym and running. We then had a de-loading week,” he said.
“We are in the second phase. We may be going on a break, but the players have a holiday programme.”
After their home match against the Jaguares the Kings have an away match against the Sunwolves in Singapore on March 4.
After 17 rounds of matches between February 23 and July 15 – with rounds 15 and 16 split due to the British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand – four conference winners and four wildcard teams will progress to the finals series, which will consist of quarterfinals, semifinals and a final on August 5.
The Southern Kings’ fixtures for next year:
February 25: v Jaguares in PE; March 4: v Sunwolves in Singapore; March 11: v Stormers in PE; March 18: v Sharks in Durban; March 25: v Lions in PE; April 9: v Force in Perth; April 15: v Reds in Brisbane; April 22: v Waratahs in Sydney; April 29: v Rebels in PE; May 13: v Sharks in PE; May 20: v Brumbies in PE; May 28: v Lions in Johannesburg; June 30: v Jaguares in Beunos Aires; July 8: v Bulls in Pretoria; July 14: v Cheetahs in PE.