Kings ready for battle in Italy
Benetton Treviso also looking to bounce back from heart-breaking loss
The Isuzu Southern Kings will be hunting a first Guinness PRO14 win on foreign soil when they face Benetton Treviso in Italy on Saturday.
Both teams are licking their wounds after defeats, and a hard-fought battle is on the cards at the Stadio di Monigo.
When they met at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in March, Bennetton edged the Kings 36-35 in a thriller.
In that game the Kings made a slow start and were down 120 after 10 minutes.
The Italian side are looking to bounce back from a heartbreaking loss to Edinburgh.
The Italians have slipped to three straight losses in the PRO14 which is their worst run since December.
Kings head coach Deon Davids made three changes to his starting line-up for the Treviso clash. While the backline remains unchanged from the one that faced Scarlets in Llanelli last week, the forward pack will see two injury-enforced changes and one rotational switch. Loosehead prop Justin Forwood will start in the No1 jersey following the departure of Schalk Ferreira from the tour after the experienced 34-year-old sustained a fractured nose.
Ferreira returned home to PE earlier in the week, together with scrumhalf Rudi van Rooyen and flanker Henry “Bakkies” Brown, both with ankle injuries. Brown’s injury opened up an opportunity for a first starting berth in over two years for CJ Velleman, who had been on the bench for the Kings’ previous two matches. Velleman made his PRO14 debut in the Kings’ 3828 victory over the Glasgow Warriors a fortnight ago after having nursed two serious knee injuries for the past two years. In a rotational change in the second row, Schalk Oelofse also returns to the starting lineup, where he will replace Bobby de Wee and partner up with JC Astle at lock. De Wee moves to the bench.
“We may have been affected by injuries but we also now have an opportunity to give some of our other players an opportunity to gain starting berths,” Davids said.
“This is a long season and it is important to have depth. I’m happy to see some of our guys getting opportunities to play, be it starting or coming off the bench. Gaining the experience in such a competitive Championship is important.” Southern Kings: (Nos 15 to 9): Masixole
Banda, Yaw Penxe, Harlon Klaasen, Berton Klaasen, Bjorn Basson, Martin du Toit, Godlen Masimla. (Nos 1 to 8): Justin Forwood , Michael Willemse (capt), Luvuyo Pupuma, Schalk Oelofse, John-Charles Astle, CJ Velleman, Andisa Ntsila, Ruaan Lerm. Replacements: ( Nos 16 to 23): Alandre van Rooyen, Lupumlo Mguca, Rossouw de Klerk, Bobby de Wee, Marthinus Burger, Ruan van Rensburg, Ntabeni Dukisa, Tristan Blewett. Benetton Treviso: (Still to be named)
Craig Evans (Wales).
The match is live on SS1 at 19:55.