Sluggish Kings lose by one point
Coach Davids left fuming
SOUTHERN Kings head coach Deon Davids was left fuming after his team’s slow start contributed to a narrow 36-35 PRO14 defeat against Italian outfit Benetton.
The sluggish Kings were trailing 12-0 in the sixth minute after conceding two early tries in a highscoring clash at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
A crowd of 4 900 fans were treated to a try feast by two teams who were never afraid to give the ball air in a game that had a festival feel to it at times.
It was five-star entertainment for the crowd, with 10 tries being scored as both sides fought for the victory.
After beating the Dragons in their previous game Davids had told his team to go into dreamland and expect things to come easily against the Italians.
But that is exactly what happened in the opening six minutes when Tomas Baravelle, Marco Lazzaroni crossed for early tries.
“You can’t start any rugby game by conceding two early tries. We had a slow start and had to keep chasing the scoreboard and that puts you on the back foot,” Davids said.
“I am disappointed with the result. I feel we let ourselves down and we actually lost against ourselves.
“The Kings had ample opportunities to score points, but we lost possession because of fundamental mistakes or bad decisions.
“We just kept the opposition in the game. The Kings scored points and then made a silly mistake from a kick-off receipt. That resulted in turnover ball and the opposition then returned the ball.”
Davids has called for a big improvement in his team’s kicking skills during their final three matches.
“We put ourselves under tremendous pressure by not kicking the ball out when we were in our back 50.
“Kicking is a fundamental skill and that is something we have to get right. We let Benetton back into the game.
“Also, when we had to keep the ball for periods, we just made bad decisions by kicking it away or conceding a turnover.
“I do not think [there’s] anything wrong with the plan, it is just an individual error. Kicking the ball out of hand is something that players do work on during the week. It is about performing those skills under pressure.”
The coach felt that losing flyhalf Kurt Coleman to injury in the 33rd minute had been a big blow.
“It is no excuse, but I think Kurt had some good kicks and he controlled the game well,” Davids said.
“Losing him at that stage of the game was a bit of a setback that put us under pressure.
“It is a serious injury and he went to hospital. But I have no more information other than that.”
The game was up for grabs right up until the end, but the Italians managed to keep hold of the ball in the final minutes to deny the hosts snatching a second PRO14 win.
After a helter-skelter first half that produced seven tries, the Italians enjoyed a slender 26-21 lead.
The match started at a furious pace and there were three tries in the first 10 minutes as both sides fought to stamp their dominance on the round 18 clash.
After conceding two early tries, the Kings then hit back with two tries of their own via Luzuko Vulindlu and Godlen Masimla to find themselves with a 14-12 lead in the 17th minute.
The fifth try belonged to Benetton who piled on the pressure before flyhalf Marty Banks went over on the corner after 21 minutes.
All the pressure was coming from Benetton and they were rewarded when centre Tommaso Iannone glided through the Kings’ defence for his team’s fourth try after 28 minutes.