Kings’ faith in Coleman

THE Southern Kings have put their faith in flyhalf Kurt Coleman to mastermind a second PRO14 win when they face Benetton at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.

Coleman made a big impression when he played off the bench when the Kings beat the Dragons, and the former Stormers pivot has been rewarded with a starting berth.

The six-try feast against the Dragons was set in motion in the second half when Coleman carved open the Welsh defence before off-loading to centre Luzuko Vulindlu, who went over for his second try of the evening.

Apart from his tactical play, Coleman also kicked six conversions and a penalty in a maiden PRO14 win which broke a 16-game losing streak.

Coleman takes the place of Martin du Toit, who moves to the bench for the round-18 clash against the Italians.

In another switch, scrumhalf Rowan Gouws has been named among the replacements to make way for Godlen Masimla.

“Against the Dragons, Kurt played his best game since he joined us,” Kings head coach Deon Davids said. “He showed the ability that he has.

“Those are the things we saw in Kurt before we recruited him to come to Port Elizabeth.”

Injuries have forced key changes to be made to the Kings side that beat the Dragons. With skipper Michael Willemse unavailable because of a knee injury, prop Schalk Ferreira will lead the team.

“We have also decided to give the young Lusanda Badiyana a chance from the bench. So he will make his PRO14 debut and he is a good ball carrier, who has been training well. We are happy for him to get this chance,” Davids said.

“In forwards, lock Giant Mtyanda has trained well and we want to see what he can bring for us against Benetton. We need his height and strength in the team and that will be important.”

While the Kings remained bottom of the log despite their win over the Dragons, Benetton are fifth on the Conference B standings thanks to eight victories.

The Kings team:

(Nos 15 to 9): Masixole Banda, Michael Makase, Berton Klaasen, Luzuko Vulindlu, Alshaun Bock, Kurt Coleman, Godlen Masimla. (Nos 1 to 8) Schalk Ferreira (captain), Stephan Coetzee, Pieter Scholtz, Stephan Greeff, Bobby de Wee, Andisa Ntsila, Martinus Burger, Ruaan Lerm. Replacements: (Nos 16 to 23): Tango Balekile, Johan Smith, Luvuyo Pupuma, Lubabalo Mtyanda, Lusanda Badiyana, Rowan Gouws, Martin du Toit, Jacques Nel. The match kicks off at 3pm and gates open at 1pm. Tickets are available at all TicketPro outlets and online at www.ticketpros.co.za