Kings look ahead to playoff match
DESPITE having three Super Rugby matches left the focus among Southern Kings fans and management has already shifted to a likely promotion/relegation dogfight against the Lions.
Likened to a “roll of the dice” type of fixture the Kings are quietly confident they have enough ammunition in their arsenal to shoot down the Lions.
“We are confident if it comes down to a playoff game we can do enough to stay up,” Kings director of rugby Alan Solomons said earlier in the season.
His confidence is shared by Kings interim chief executive Charl Crous when he looked ahead to what will be an explosive end to the season.
“Ideally you would not want to play such a game because anything can happen. I do feel we have a good chance,’’ Crous said.
All eyes will now be on the Lions when they start their Currie Cup Premier Division campaign ahead of their date with destiny against the Kings.
After winning the Vodacom Cup, hopes are high in the Lions camp and they feel they have the firepower to subdue the Kings over two legs.
Insiders say the Lions are likely to make use of the players involved in the Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup and not rely heavily on the star players they loaned out to rival franchises after they lost their Super Rugby status.
This could result in flyhalf Elton Jantjies, who was loaned out to the Stormers, possibly finding himself on the bench in a promotion showdown.
The early Currie Cup matches will give an idea of who Kings pivot Demetri Catrakilis is likely to face in a kicking duel.
Coach Johan Ackermann has made it clear he rates Lionel Cronje, a former Stormers and Bulls player, highly.
Ackermann believes the 24year-old former Queen’s College player will be able to provide some of the flair Jantjies had become known for at the Lions.
“Lionel Cronje is one guy who has the X-factor. He changes the whole flow of the game.”
The Kings resume their Super Rugby programme with a match against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld on June 29, before a home match against the Stormers on July 6 and a trip to Durban to face the Sharks on July 13.