Coach tweaks his depleted team for Edinburgh clash
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INJURIES have forced Southern Kings head coach Deon Davids to ring the changes ahead of his team’s Pro14 showdown against Edinburgh at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium tomorrow night.
The most notable change comes at flyhalf where Kurt Coleman has been promoted from the bench to start in the place of Oliver Zono who misses the clash because of concussion.
Zono played an influential role against Scarlets on Sunday, before he was forced to leave the field early in the second half.
In another change centre Harlon Klaasen, after starting from the bench against Scarlets, gets a chance to start in the place of Martin du Toit who has a shoulder injury.
There are also doubts about the fitness of fullback Yaw Penxe and wing Anthonie Volmink and a decision on whether they will be able to play will be made today.
After nine straight defeats, the Kings are desperate to register a maiden win in their last match of the year.
The Kings will next be in action on January 5 when they travel to play Edinburgh in the second round of the competition.
“There is a bit of concern around Yaw and Anthonie and they did not take contact in training on Wednesday.
“They ran through the session and decision will be made before the game regarding their fitness,” said Davids.
“If Penxe is not fit then Masixole Banda will take his place. Alshaun Bock is also ready to take Volmink’s place.
“Our man-of-the-match against Scarlets, Martin du Toit, is out with a shoulder injury and Berton Klaasen shifts to number 12 and Harlon Klaasen comes in at number 13.”
Harlon Klaasen scored a try against Scarlets last week, and Davids says this a big chance for him to prove he belongs at the top level.
“I think Harlon was very good with ball in hand. As a youngster, he showed a lot of energy against Scarlets,” said Davids.
“After Harlon made tackles he showed a lot of energy, and he worked himself back into position for the next action.
“He is a player with a special feeling for the game and he has got deceptive speed. This is a big opportunity for him to gain some experience.”
Davids says the Kings must build on the positives they took out of the Scarlets game when they came close to toppling the champions.
“I want us to carry on with the positives from the last game and minimise our mistakes. We must use our opportunities and ensure that we play our rugby in the right areas.
“Against Scarlets we played too much rugby in our own half and we did not made good decisions on the edges when we had ball in hand when we could finish.
“Also, we did not show patience towards the end in the goal zone so that we could capitalise.” The Kings team: Yaw Penxe/Masixole Banda; Michael Makase, Harlon Klaasen, Berton Klaasen; Anthonie Volmink/Alshaun Bock, Kurt Coleman; Rudi van Rooyen, Schalk Ferreira (capt), Stephan Coetzee, Rossouw de Klerk, Stephan Greef, Bobby de Wee, Andisa Ntsila, Martinus Burger, Ruaan Lerm.
Reserves: Alandre van Rooyen, Luvuyo Pupuma, Pieter Scholtz, Lubalalo Mtyanda, Dries van Schalkwyk, Godlen Masimla, Benhard Janse van Rensburg, Jacques Nel. — DDC