Kings side ‘could do with some bolstering’
EP KINGS skipper Luke Watson has spoken about whether his team needs to be bolstered ahead of what promises to be a testing Currie Cup Premier Division campaign later this year.
Questions have been raised regarding the quality of the Kings squad after they failed to make the quarterfinals of the Vodacom Cup.
It was the second consecutive season that the Kings had failed to reach the Vodacom Cup quarterfinals, and followed their miserable return to the Currie Cup Premier Division last year, when they lost nine out of 10 matches.
Watson, who is on the comeback trail, was speaking ahead of the Kings’ final Vodacom Cup match against a Sharks XV.
He was asked, considering that they would be facing stronger opposition in the Currie Cup, whether they needed to urgently sign new players.
“I think that most teams in the world would say they would need reinforcing. Toulon just signed Quade Cooper. So you are never going to get a side you think is good enough,” Watson said.
“So if you say reinforcing, I say well, let’s sign Richie McCaw, Daniel Carter and Sonny Bill Williams. We could easily do with reinforcing, and any team in the world would look for that.
“I do believe we have stuck to our vision. We have a core group of youngsters who have come through our academy who are local boys, and some whom we have brought back from all over the world who are local boys who have come through the system.
“They are getting opportunities they have not got before and they probably would not have got elsewhere.
“It was always our primary vision and now we should try and take these various pieces of the puzzle and put them together in a way that works.
“To answer that question about bolstering the squad, any coach in the world would say yes. So yes, it would be great to have the squad bolstered.
“Where does this put us in relation to the Currie Cup? The Currie Cup is separate competition. There are some Super Rugby sides that are not performing too well. I don’t think they have started focusing on the Currie Cup yet either. It’s a new competition and opportunity.”
Asked if he feared the team had a hangover from failing to make the Vodacom quarterfinals, Watson said: “I hope not. I think winning is a culture and you eventually get used to winning.
“I think that, specially when you are young guys, being able to understand and manage a game and start winning quite early, it definitely does help.
“But at the end of the day we can’t sit back and for the rest of our lives say, remember that 2014 season. That is not what we are about.
“We have got a lot of reasons why we should not be winning and be a complete failure. We don’t allow ourselves the luxury of resting on our laurels and too much hindsight.”
The Kings were hampered by injuries this season and David Bulbring, Shane Gates, Edgar Marutlulle and Tim Whitehead all had stints in the captaincy hot seat.
To ensure the Kings are ready for battle, three friendlies at have been arranged at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium during July ahead of their opener against the Golden Lions in Port Elizabeth on August 8. The Kings’ friendlies are: July 11: versus Sharks (no time decided yet) July 18: versus Bulls (7pm) July 25: versus Western Province (7pm)