Kings crack whip on ill-discipline
Players finding themselves on the wrong side of the law with referees will be shown no mercy by Isuzu Southern Kings interim head coach Robbi Kempson or his right hand man Vuyo Zangqa.
This became apparent when Kempson selected his team to face the Ospreys on their recent European tour.
Improving discipline is a key focus area for the Kings, and marked improvement in their opening six Guinness PRO14 matches.
In previous seasons the Kings were the worst performing team when it came to being on the receiving end of penalties and yellow and red cards.
Last season, the Kings were the owners of the unwanted statistic of conceding the most penalties and cards in the PRO14.
During a campaign where they won only two of the 21 matches they played, the Kings got 27 yellow and three red cards.
Under a new coaching regime, the Kings have only had four yellow cards and no red awarded against them.
Two of those cards were issued when the Kings were thrashed 50-0 by Glasgow Warriors in round five of the competition.
In the 23rd minute Kings captain Ruaan Lerm was sin-binned for a dangerous ruck entry, and almost immediately Glasgow’s South African prop Oli Kebble ran straight from 15m for the fourth try.
Before the break, the Kings picked up a second yellow card, with winger S’bura Sithole the offender.
Though Kempson did not speak directly to the cards, one could read between the lines that Lerm and Sithole were made to pay a penalty.
Lerm found himself relieved of the captaincy and relegated to the substitutes bench for his team’s next game against the Ospreys.
Sithole also found himself out of the starting line-up.
Zangqa was more forthright on why Lerm had found himself on the bench against the Ospreys.
“There is no rotation system for our captains. It is just about performance,” Zangqa said.
“There have been one or two injuries and discipline issues.
“Lerm was our captain against Glasgow. “We always look back at the greatest captains, and you have never seen them run 10 metres and throw a shoulder in the ruck.
“It is just not what we want from our leaders.”
Kempson’s thinking on the cards can be found in his comments when he named his side to face the Ospreys.
“Josiah Twum-Boafo comes on to the wing, getting his place with a couple of players slipping down to the bench in view of the ill-discipline and yellow cards in the previous game, which we just cannot afford,” Kempson said.
Last season it got to the point where Kings chairman, Loyiso Dotwana, said he would no longer tolerate the high number of yellow cards.
Within hours of being elected chairman of the Kings in 2018, Dotwana made it clear where he stood on the disciplinary front.
“If you look at the stats, the number of yellow cards we have had is the highest in the competition. We cannot allow that to continue,” he said.
“Both the coaching staff and the players must take full responsibility for that.
“We will bring all those accountabilities into the side for next season.”
Kempson said his team had worked hard at improving their discipline, which had been an achilles heel in previous seasons.
“Discipline is something we have worked exceptionally hard on,” Kempson said.
Senior Kings player, JC Astle, said at the start of the season that maintaining discipline was crucial if the Kings wanted to make an impression in the PRO14.
“Discipline is one of the main things in a game,” Astle said.
“If you give 20 penalties away, you are not going to win that game — especially in this league, where teams are very clinical.”
“So discipline is a huge focus for us.
“A key area is to get the penalty and yellow card count down so we can end the game competitively. For us to have 14 men on the field is inexcusable.
The Kings’ zero tolerance stance on ill-discipline faces its next challenge against Connacht in Ireland on November 30.