Luiters in starting lineup as Kings face Crusaders
with Edgar Marutlulle moving down to the bench.
“Edgar put in a sterling performance against the Chiefs last week and the move is in no way an indictment of his performance,” Davids said.
Davids said Luiters had been given the chance to start, having played off the bench last week after returning from injur y.
“It’s more of a rotational move, with Kevin also bringing a bit of experience to the field,” he said.
JP du Plessis also comes onto the bench in place of Jaco van Tonder, who did not join the team on tour.
“The Crusaders are a well-balanced team and we are expecting this match to be an exceptional challenge for us as a team,” Davids said.
“We have only had one practice session so far this week, due to the long trip, so we have tried to cover some of the issues we identified from the last game.
“We have also spoken a lot about concentration, specifically in the 10 minutes before and after half time.”
Captain Steven Sykes said the players were settling in well after their long journey to New Zealand and had had a productive training session yesterday.
“This was our first training session since we arrived and was very productive, with a lot of positives that we can hopefully take into the match with us,” he said.
Sykes said the team was expecting a tough game against the Crusaders.
“I told the team that this is probably going to be the toughest game of the competition. The Crusaders are a great team, in all my years playing, I have never played against a weak Crusaders team.”
Sykes said the forwards were confident in their set piece, having held their own in the first two games of the season.
“I think the guys are ready for the match. We just need to focus on cutting out some of the soft moments in the game and making fewer errors,” he said.
Crusaders Coach Todd Blackadder has made a host of changes to his starting side.
Among the eight changes in personnel are first appearances of the year for fullback Marty McKenzie, halfback Mitchell Drummond, flanker Matt Todd and lock Luke Romano.
McKenzie’s inclusion means David Havili moves from fullback to inside centre, forming a midfield partnership with Kieron Fonotia.
There is also a change on the right wing, with Johnny McNicholl promoted from the bench, swapping places with Jone Macilai.
In the forwards, prop Wyatt Crockett and hooker Ben Funnell make it into the run-on 15 for the first time this season, and Jimmy Tupou takes over at No 8 from Kieran Read.
The teams are: