Sykes to lead Kings against old team

STEVEN Sykes will captain the Southern Kings in their Super Rugby opener against the Sharks in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.

Sykes will pack down in the second row alongside fellow former Sharks lock JC Astle, while Tom Botha, Martin Ferreira and Schalk Ferreira complete the tight five.

Chris

Cloete, Thembelani Bholi and Jacques Engelbrecht will make up the loose trio.

Ntando Kebe and Elgar Watts are the halfbacks, with Shane Gates and JP du Plessis combining in the midfield.

Malcolm Jaer, Luzuko Vulindlu and former Bulls fullback Jurgen Visser make up the back three.

The Kings return to the competition for a second season after their debut in 2013, this time un- der another coach who has little top-level experience in Deon Davids.

Davids has previously coached the Boland Cavaliers, South Western Districts Eagles and the Lions Vodacom Cup team.

Crippling financial problems have seen them lose a number of players to rival teams, and captain Sykes is one of the few in the squad with significant Super Rugby experience. Southern Kings: 15 Jurgen Visser, 14 Luzuko Vulindlu, 13 JP du Plessis, 12 Shane Gates, 11 Malcolm Jaer, 10 Elgar Watts, 9 Ntando Kebe, 8 Jacques Engelbrecht, 7 Thembelani Bholi, 6 Chris Cloete, 5 JC Astle, 4 Steven Sykes (captain), 3 Tom Botha, 2 Martin Ferreira, 1 Schalk Ferreira Reserves: Edgar Marutlulle, Sti Sithole, Schalk Oelofse, Cyril-John Velleman, Leighton Eksteen, Louis Fouche, Charles Radebe