Kings in must-win double header against Cheetahs

If the Isuzu Southern Kings want to show they are a team on the mend, they must do it against the Cheetahs at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday, January 25.

Make no mistake, this is a make-or-break match for the bottom of the log Kings.

With 13 matches to be played, the Bay franchise side still have a chance to turn their season around. But that long overdue turnaround has to start next week.

Defeat against the Cheetahs would be huge blow to the morale of a young side who have found the going tough.

After the PE clash the Kings travel to Bloemfontein for the second leg of the double header on February 1.

Playing in Bloemfontein is never easy, so matters will get tougher for the Kings.

The Cheetahs will no doubt lift their game for the Port Elizabeth clash, and with feisty players like hooker Joseph Dweba in their engine-room, the battle for

With 13 matches to be played, the Bay franchise side still have a chance to turn their season around. But that long overdue turnaround has to start next week

supremacy will be fierce.

So far the Kings have won only one match out of eight, and will be desperate to put on a show for their home fans,

Despite results going against them, there is a consensus that the Kings are a better drilled outfit than last season.

But, as heartening as the progress is, it is a win that the players and fans crave. They need to get over the line against the Cheetahs and produce a result that will give their long-suffering fans some hope.

There was much fanfare when the team kicked off the new Guinness PRO14 season under new ownership in September 2019.

Targets were set, and the owners wanted their team to win a minimum of 50% of their matches in the new campaign.

The Kings also wanted to turn the NMB Stadium into a fortress where home games were not negotiable.

Unfortunately, things have not turned out as the owners or fans would have liked.

Given the ideal start of three home matches, the Kings stumbled from the get-go.

Defeats against Cardiff Blues, Munster, and Ulster on consecutive weekends continued their losing trend of previous seasons.

It has been a long time since so much has been riding on the outcome of a match for the Kings.

Victory over the Cheetahs would be a huge milestone in their short but eventful history.

A fourth consecutive defeat on home soil, however, would be a difficult pill to swallow.