Kings ready to take on fired-up Rebels
SOUTHERN Kings forwards coach Barend Pieterse believes the Melbourne Rebels are on a high and will throw everything at his team in a Super Rugby showdown at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.
Both sides have been mentioned as candidates for the chop when Super Rugby is cut from 18 to 15 teams next year, and this has given them new vigour.
The Kings scored a stunning win over the Waratahs in Sydney and the Rebels drew with the Sharks in Durban.
“We can expect the Rebels to come here and give everything, just like the Kings will do,” Pieterse said.
“They do not have anything to lose at the moment so we must just expect anything from them.
“The Rebels have a good scrum pack. We know our guys can scrum and that all the other teams can scrum.
“It is actually about how you pitch up on the day.
“The last game, and the way the guys pitched up on match day, was something we have not experienced in a while.
“The Rebels are on a high. It does not matter if the Sharks did not play well or whatever happened on the day.
“Going to King’s Park and getting a draw against a top quality side must put confidence in you.”
The forwards coach said the Kings lock pairing of Wilhelm van der Sluys and Irne Herbst were thriving at the moment. “I have known of Wilhelm and how he plays since his Varsity Cup days,” Pieterse said.
“I have always known he is a good player.
“Wilhelm brings a bit of calmness to the pack.
“That is something the team also had last year from Steven Sykes and JC Astle.
“Wilhelm really took over that role on our tour to Australia.
“With Irne it is a case of what you see is what you get. He is rough and just wants to hurt people.”
Kings head coach Deon Davids said it has been fantastic for his team to end their Australian tour with a win over the Waratahs.
“The guys continued to learn on the three-week tour of Australia and we were just happy we could put it together in our last game against the Waratahs,” Davids said.
“There are plenty of work-ons to do. We do not start games well and we tend to play catch-up rugby.
“The big focus for us is to get that right. We also want to get more balance in our approach throughout the 80 minutes.”
The Kings emerged from the match against the Waratahs without any major injuries and will name their team tomorrow.
The Kings medical staff said they were pleased with the progress made by players on the long-term injury list.
The game kicks off at 7.30pm.
We can expect them to come here and give everything