Kings will not go with a whimper
Resurgent side set to give all in last Super Rugby games of season despite uncertainty over future
IF the Southern Kings are axed from Super Rugby on Friday, it is clear their players are planning to leave the tournament with a bang rather than a whimper. Stoic Southern Kings prop Ross Geldenhuys has admitted it will be a sad farewell if his team are cut from the competition.
SA Rugby chiefs will announce in Cape Town on Friday which two South Africa teams will be cut from Super Rugby and the Kings and Cheetahs are expected to get the chop.
Geldenhuys was speaking after the Kings’ stunning 31-30 win at the intimidating Estadio Jose Amalfitani Stadium on Saturday.
It was the Kings’ fifth victory of the season and provided further evidence of their recent resurgence.
It is expected that the Kings, if they are axed, will join an enlarged European Pro12 tournament which kicks off in September.
“We don’t really know about next season,” Geldenhuys said.
“We need to wait for the powers that be at Sanzaar and SA Rugby to determine what is happening.
“We just need to focus on the next game and the more we win the harder it will be for us to leave.”
The Kings will be hunting for their fifth win in seven matches when they face the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
Kings chief operating officer Charl Crous said it had been a magnificent win against a strong Jaguares side. “I am extremely proud of the team. “For us to go all the way there and deliver such a performance was magnificent. It was a great victory,” Crous said.
“The players and team management have put in a lot of hard work to get results like this. We are now looking forward to the rest of the season, with games against the Bulls away and the Cheetahs at home.
“We are asking for the people of the region to come out and support the Kings in the final game against the Cheetahs at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on July 14.
“They must start making their arrangements now to be at the stadium and support the guys for the last Super Rugby game of the season.”
If the Kings are cut from Super Rugby, it has been mooted that they play some home games in England in the Pro12. Saracens’ Allianz Arena in London has been mentioned as a potential venue in a bid to cut back on travel expenses.
If the Kings play in the Pro12, they will join teams from Wales, Ireland, Scotland and Italy in a 14-team league. Teams will play on a home and away basis but the competition format still has to be decided – whether it will be played as one 14-team league or two conferences of seven.
This would be the first major change to the Pro Rugby competition since the introduction of Italian sides in 2010.
SA Rugby is apparently eager to align with a northern hemisphere tournament, as the similar time zones would make cross-border games compatible for television broadcasters.
Kings head coach Deon Davids said he was also awaiting Saru’s decision on Friday.
Speculating on possible participation in the Pro12, he said: “I think the Pro12 is something different and it opens a different landscape for the players and coaches.
“It would also be a new experience if you will play against teams in different conditions and in different countries over a new time period.
“So it would be a huge challenge, but an excellent chance to familiarise yourself with the type of rugby played in the northern hemisphere.”
It is believed that frantic behindthe-scenes work is being done to ensure the Kings will be ready to make a possible Pro12 debut in September, if SA Rugby decides Europe is the way forward.
Solid defence key in Kings stunning win
SOLID defence helped the Southern Kings to a stunning 31-30 Super Rugby win over a powerful Jaguares team packed with test stars in Beunos Aires at the weekend.
It was a remarkable turnaround for the revitalised Southern Kings, who were on the receiving end of the 73-27 hiding when they played at the Estadio Jose Amalfitani Stadium last year.
The Kings’ defence has been pinpointed as one of the winning factors.
Kings speedster Makazole Mapimpi crossed the whitewash twice while Luzuko Vulindlu and Wandile Mjekevu also scored tries.
Cool-headed captain Lionel Cronje, one of the stars of the team this season, contributed 11 points with his boot.
It was the fourth win in six matches for the Kings, and the seventh loss in eight games for the Jaguares. Thanks to their five victories, the Kings now boast a healthy tally of 23 points from 13 games.
When the sides clashed at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium earlier in the season, the Jaguares won 39-26.
Saturday’s decisive score came nine minutes from fulltime, when Southern Kings wing Mjekevu scored a try, which Cronje converted for a six-point advantage.
Jaguares fullback Joaquin Tuculet scored in the corner to trim the gap to just one point, but substitute flyhalf Joaquin Diaz Bonilla missed a conversion that would have given his side the lead.
Poor goal-kicking cost the Jaguares dearly as first-picked flyhalf Nicolas Sanchez fluffed four of six shots at the posts and Bonilla was wide with his two attempts.
Kings prop Ross Geldenhuys said: “I think the Jaguares have the most carries in the tournament, so we knew we had to defend really well and just focus on what we had to do.
“All the games in Super Rugby are different. The scrums were really hard and it was a battle for us. We made it difficult for ourselves and we made a lot of mistakes, which did not happen in past games.
“But in the end we did really well. The Kings wanted to stop the Jaguares’ maul and we did that. We wanted to scrum well and put them under pressure out wide – and that took 80 minutes,” Geldenhuys said.
“It was awesome to play against a really quality team and the Argentine people were great to us on this trip. To get the win was really good for the team.
“Every team that runs onto the field always gives of their best and expects to win – and that is what we did. We have been doing that all season.
“Any win is awesome and in Super Rugby you play against quality sides. A lot of the Jaguares team play for the Argentine test side and they are a really good team.”
Geldenhuys said the Kings were forced to work extra hard after the half-time break.
The home side led 20-14, but it was the Kings who rose to the challenge.
“We needed to graft hard. After half time they scored a try, so we needed to regroup.
“We had a meeting before we came over here and our goal was to win in Argentina, because it is hard to do that.
“Not many teams have won here in the past. But that one is done now and we have to focus on the next game – against the Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday,” he said.
“The Kings only look a week ahead and when we go into the next game we want to win it. Against the Bulls at Loftus will be a massive game.
“The Bulls also won at the weekend so they will be really amped for our game. We need to focus on what we need to do and what we have been doing all season.
“We at the Southern Kings need to give our best for each other – and we should get the result,” Geldenhuys said.