Dukisa solves flyhalf crisis
VERSATILE Ntabeni Dukisa has the chance to prove he is the man for a crisis when he lines up at flyhalf for the Southern Kings against the Cardiff Blues on Saturday.
Dukisa is set to be named in the Kings starting lineup for the game at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth after several first-choice flyhalfs were injured and others signed by rival teams.
The latest setback for the Kings was the groin injury Martin du Toit suffered during the team’s clash against Munster on Saturday.
Du Toit was included in the side after Kurt Coleman fractured his left lower leg against Italian outfit Benetton.
Earlier in the season, Pieter-Steyn de Wet left to join to Griquas and Benhard Janse van Rensburg went to the Cheetahs.
“Martin is out and we have a flyhalf crisis. We have lost Oliver Zono and Kurt Coleman and now Martin,” Kings coach Deon Davids said.
“So Ntabeni Dukisa will come in and Masixole Banda will cover for him.
“Andisa Ntsila is also struggling with a niggle, so we will decide on Friday whether he will be in the starting lineup or come in from the bench.
“We could also give a guy like Lusanda Badiyane a chance.
“Centre Jacques Nel is out with a knee strain, so we will think about getting Harlon Klaasen back and maybe having Alshaun Bock on the bench.”
Ntsila said he was confident that he would be able to take his place in the Kings side.
“I am hoping for the best. My ankle is sprained, but I do not think it is anything serious,” he said.
“The medical staff said I must rest, work on it and get some treatment.
“I am confident I will be fit to play against Cardiff.”
Davids said he had no knowledge of reports that Kings hooker Michael Willemse was set to leave Port Elizabeth to join English team Wasps and that he would be replaced by Scarra Ntubeni.
“From my understanding there is no truth in those stories, so I can’t comment on the speculation,” Davids said.
“We are in the process of looking to strengthen our squad and will make a formal announcement when the time is right.”
After the Munster defeat, Davids appealed to his team to stick to their systems against Cardiff.
“In the first half, we executed our game plan quite well and pinned Munster in their half,” he said.
“Our kicking was also on par. But for some reason in the second half, we tended to go out of system.
“We went to play wide instead of being more direct in the middle, where we made metres and turned them with kicks to keep them in their own half.
“The accuracy of our kicks let us down in the second half – that is something we have to work on.”
The Kings, who have lost 18 of their opening 19 games, will also be keen to shore up their defence, which has leaked 108 tries this season.
After the Cardiff clash, the Kings will complete their season with a match against the Cheetahs in Port Elizabeth on April 28.
The Kings will name their team today.