Southern Kings coach happy with balanced squad
AFTER watching his squad gelling for more than two months, Southern Kings head coach Deon Davids believes he has a well balanced group of rugby players at his disposal.
Decision time is looming for Davids as he starts to piece together his Super Rugby starting lineup for the franchise.
Pre-season training is in full swing and the 46-man squad have been put through their paces in a gruelling build-up to the new campaign, which starts on February 25 with a home match against the Jaguares.
“I think we have a good balance, although there will always be one or two positions where you could think that we could still try and test things,” Davids said.
“But overall, I’m quite happy with where we are. Again, this time last year we did not have a squad and now we are in a fortunate position.
“In the best circumstances, we would have liked to have had some continuity – building from the Currie Cup into Super Rugby – but, unfortunately, we work under different situations.
“However, I do think we can look forward to seeing the squad playing.”
Ahead of the Jaguares match, Davids will have two opportunities to test his squad in match conditions.
First up is a friendly encounter against Border in East London on February 4, followed by a warm-up against the SWD Eagles in Port Elizabeth on February 11.
Davids will welcome this early opportunity to test the combinations and observe how his Southern Kings players react under pressure situations.
“We are also excited about some of the players who will have first-time exposure to Super Rugby,” Davids said.
“We want to see how certain combinations work.
“It will also be an opportunity to see what work we need to do before our first game.”
Some players on the injury list at the Southern Kings are:
ý Sintu Manjezi (knee) is on track and is expected to make a full recovery by the end of this month;
ý Chris Cloete (knee) is expected to make a full recovery at the end of the month.
ý CJ Velleman (knee) is expected to make a full recovery, but only in April;
ý Tango Balekile (shoulder) is on track and is expected to make a full recovery by the end of this month;
ý Tyler Paul (shoulder) is expected to make a full recovery at the end of the month.
ý Malcolm Jaer (hamstring) sustained the injury during his time with the South African Sevens team, but is on track and is expected to make a full recovery in a week; and
ý Wandile Mjekevu (foot) is on track and is expected to make a full recovery by the end of the month.