South Africans start with a whimper

Two games, two defeats and 99 points shipped.

If the evidence of the first weekend is anything to go by, the experiment of letting South African teams into the Guinness PRO14 tournament is not a success. After Cheetahs’ 42-19 defeat at Ulster on Friday, the Southern Kings looked less than regal in conceding eight tries in the 57-10 loss at defending champions Scarlets, but head coach Deon Davids insists his side can only get better.

The Kings have lost the majority of their squad since the decision was made to axe them from Super Rugby.

It has left Davids and his coaching team trying to put together a squad in a limited time before the start of the campaign in the northern hemisphere.

“We always thought it was going to be a big challenge for us, we only had one week to prepare to come up against the champions,” said Davids. “We are in a rebuilding phase having lost 50 per cent of our staff and 90 per cent of our players. At least now we have a platform to work with.

“With every challenge there is an opportunity, we have to take the positives out of this game and build on it.”

Davids admitted that time has conspired against the newcomers. “Being included in this competition so late is the challenge we have to face and grow with,” he said.

In Saturday’s other games Glasgow impressed with an 18-12 victory at Connacht and there were also wins for Leinster at Dragons and Ospreys over Zebre.