Kings need to cut out fundamental mistakes – Davids
SOUTHERN Kings head coach Deon Davids has called on his team to cut out individual errors ahead of their crucial PRO14 match against Ulster at Kwazakhele’s Wolfson Stadium on Saturday.
Friday’s 43-13 loss against Glasgow at the Scotstoun Stadium was a seventh straight loss for the Kings, who want to redeem themselves against the Irish outfit.
The Kings were outscored by seven tries to one on an artificial pitch in Glasgow, and Davids will demand allround improvement against Ulster in round eight of the competition.
“There are some good individual performances, but there are also fundamental errors that some individuals made,” Davids said.
“In terms of our decisionmaking, I felt in certain situations we could have executed better.
“Our plan was to hold onto the ball for as long as possible.
“But we sometimes let ourselves down by kicking the ball away unnecessarily in the wide channel or maybe losing a ball in contact and being a bit impatient.
“When Glasgow got the turnover ball, they used it effectively and counter-attacked.
“They carried the ball into our half and got the set piece. They put us under pressure.”
The result means the Kings are still winless after seven games and rooted to the foot of Conference B, while Glasgow remain runaway Conference A leaders.
Ulster will arrive in Port Elizabeth on the back of a 25-10 defeat against archrivals Leinster on Saturday.
Two tries from Luke McGrath and one by Jordan Larmour saw Leinster win the interprovincial Irish derby.
Ross Byrne kicked a conversion and two penalties as the southern province racked up their third successive PRO14 victory.
Leinster led 13-10 at the break, when Ireland skipper Rory Best played his 200th game for Ulster.
The four points saw Leo Cullen’s Leinster squad taste victory for the first time in Belfast since 2014, and meant that their hosts fell to their first home reverse in the league in a year.
Leinster, with recent Lions Jack McGrath, Tadhg Furlong and skipper Sean O’Brien in their starting lineup, but without Jonathan Sexton and Robbie Henshaw, were far more accurate and potent.
It was Ulster’s second defeat in the league this season, following last month’s shock reverse at Zebre. Five of the Kings’ opening seven games have been played in Europe, and they will be hoping for better fortune on home turf.
After small crowds watched their opening home matches against Leinster and Zebre, the Kings are hoping for a better turnout in Kwazakhele.
Following the Ulster clash, they will also have home games against Scarlets and Edinburgh as they bid to turn things around.