Kings to raise bar against Treviso

After a flat performance against Connacht, the Isuzu Southern Kings must find fresh energy when they tackle Italian side Benetton Treviso on Saturday, Kings head coach Deon Davids said.

The Kings got off to slow start against Connacht and Davids wants his men to up the tempo in what should be a hardfought Guinness Pro14 clash against the Italians at the Madibaz Stadium.

“I thought the guys looked leaden-footed against Connacht and we lacked energy. It is difficult to know what caused that,” said Davids.

“We really had excellent preparation in the two weeks leading up to the Connacht match. We had also had a good rest and a good captain’s run.

“So it is difficult to fathom out why we started slowly and we did not achieve the tempo that we wanted. Now it is important that we flush out this game against Connacht and we have to relook at the players who are available to face Treviso.

“We will see where we can get fresh players in that can jumpstart us without breaking any continuity.”

Davids said that he would carefully analyse what happened in the scrums before his forwards pack down against Treviso.

“To the eye there were one or two decisions that were a bit tough that went against us and swung the momentum of the game,” said Davids.

“It is frustrating, because it as another week that we are talking about the situation in the scrums.

“The Kings struggled in the first half to get ball possession and we had to defend plenty of phases. That can tire a person and then you turn at halftime and play into the wind. These were factors that could have played a role in the Connacht defeat.”

The Kings are expected to name their team on Friday.