Kings have few tricks up sleeve
IF the Southern Kings box clever, they can put high-flying Scarlets under pressure in a PRO14 clash at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Sunday, flyhalf Kurt Coleman said.
Coleman, who is expected to be directing the Kings from the pivotal No 10 position, said his team had a few tricks under their sleeves for the clash.
“We have been doing a little homework on the Scarlets. They do like line speed, but in that they do give away certain things,” Coleman said.
“I do not want to give away too much, but we do have a few things up our sleeve.
“If we box clever, we can put them under a lot of pressure and play from there.
“We will need a kicking and a running game against the Scarlets. The Kings will need a bit of both.”
Coleman was in the Kings side that lost 57-10 to the Scarlets in their first game of the season in Llanelli in Wales.
He was injured in the Kings’ second game against Connacht, but made his comeback earlier this month when the Port Elizabeth side came close to toppling Ulster.
Even though the Scarlets are without 15 senior players on international duty, the Kings are expecting an all-out assault from the Welsh side, who are on top of Conference B.
“You can see the guys are starting to get to know one another a lot better, especially off the field,” Coleman said.
“With that, you get to know how players perform on the field.”
“The first round of the competition was tough, but we have taken a lot of lessons out of it and I think we will be OK in the second half of the season.”
Coleman, a veteran of 41 matches for the Stormers, arrived in Port Elizabeth to add extra experience to the Kings lineup. The No 10 also played 64 times for Western Province, but was often viewed as a backup flyhalf.
“I was in Cape Town for eight years. I had a great time there and made a lot of friends,” Coleman said.
“But I sometimes felt that I was just like a backup flyhalf.
“So I felt this move to the Kings was a new opportunity and I could start with a clean slate in a new competition.
“Unfortunately, I got injured in the second game before I could really get going.
“But, hopefully, in the second round I will be injury free and play some good rugby.
Asked if the failure to win a game was frustrating for the Kings, Coleman said: “I would not say it is frustrating. I would say it is a source of motivation.
“I think the guys are starting to believe that we are not here just to compete, but that we can win a couple of games.
“In the beginning of the season, it was helter-skelter and we played after only being together for two weeks.
“We were not sure where we were on the rating of the teams or the level of the competition.
“But I feel that the more we have played, the guys have started to believe that we can be as good as these players.
“That is the biggest thing I have noticed in the first half of the season.”