Kings must get flyhalf, says Stick
IF the EP Kings want to be a force in the Currie Cup Premier Division later this year they must urgently look to sign a new flyhalf to marshal the team.
That was the warning Kings Vodacom head coach Mzwandile Stick delivered to the man who will take over from him in the coaching hot seat for what promises to be a challenging Currie Cup campaign.
Stick, who was only in charge for the Vodacom Cup, delivered his warning after the Kings fell woefully short in the tactical kicking department when they beat a Sharks XV 23-8 at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Friday.
With regular flyhalfs George Whitehead, Gary van Aswegen and Tony Jantjies all injured, the Kings fielded Hansie Graaff in the No 10 jersey.
“Against the Sharks we knew it would be a challenge for us at No 10 when it comes to tactical stuff and that Hansie Graaff would not be spot on
“We knew it would be a challenge. That is why we had Scott van Breda on the bench if it got to the stage where we needed a solid kicking game.
“That is why I made that change because you know that Scotty will offer you something with his boot and that was the right move.
“The biggest challenge for the new coaches is to get a proper No 10 and guys who can control the game and put us in the right places.
“When we saw Hansie at No 10, we saw he had something to offer in general play when we wanted to play running rugby.
“But when it comes to kicking, Hansie is not the best person for that.
“Going into the Currie Cup, we are going to need a specialist No 10, a guy who can take us through the whole tournament,” was Stick’s warning ahead of the Kings’ opening Currie Cup match in August.
“Now we need to bring in a couple of players to join the system just to make sure we top up our squad. There are a couple of youngsters, if you look at our outside backs and the middle guys like Tim Whitehead and Ronnie Cooke.
“Those guys have experience and you have exciting players out wide like Luther Obi. Those guys, whenever they get ball in hand and are put in the right places, get excited to attack.
“I don’t think the guys who played at No 10 stepped up to the challenge. But I do not know what the plan is going into the Currie Cup. Maybe we need one or two players to top up our squad. In the backline I think we will have solid players.”