Kings name Pro 14 captain
Early trip to Wales, Ireland will deliver positives, says Davids
HOOKER Michael Willemse will lead the Southern Kings on their two-week Pro14 tour of Wales and Ireland, which kicks off with a showdown against champions Scarlets on Saturday.
Kings head coach Deon Davids said Willemse would captain a 27-man squad, which will make its debut in the European tournament with matches against Scarlets in Wales and Connacht in Ireland.
He said that although he had his potential starting lineup in mind, a final decision would only be made on Thursday in Wales.
Willemse played for the Southern Kings in Super Rugby, and he has been handed the tough job of leading a team that has been hastily assembled.
“Michael is quite familiar with our culture and the way that we play. He was one of the standout performers for us last season,” Davids said.
“He is one of the core guys who is still part of us so he was a natural choice for me to take up that role.”
Davids said there were a couple of guys who were not considered for selection for injury reasons.
“Some of the players not considered were Giant Mtyanda and Alshaun Bock and a couple of others.”
The coach said there would be a lot of positives from going on tour so early in the competition.
“You can spend a lot of time with players individually and the players will get to know one another better.
“There will definitely be a lot of benefits from this tour. When we get back we will have a good understanding of where we need to go.
“The players who are not going on tour and are staying here will have a chance to work on individual aspects of their game, like conditioning and skills and getting to know the team plan. That will be beneficial.
“When we get back you suddenly have a larger pool of players that you can work with.”
“The team leave on Tuesday. We will have our first training session in Wales on Thursday and a captain’s run on Friday and then play on Saturday. Then we are off to Ireland to face Connacht.
“The players who are staying behind in Port Elizabeth will have a specific skills and conditioning programme that they will follow with one of the coaches to get them going.
“It has been a hectic week for us getting all the off and on-field systems going.”
No decision has been made whether some of the players not going on tour will be released to play for the EP Kings in the Currie Cup First Division.
“That is still a discussion. Obviously you want some of the guys to have some game time. There are still some guys who I feel need other work before being considered.”
When the Kings return from Europe, they will have home matches against Leinster (September 16) and Zebre (September 23) at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
The squad:
Forwards: Tango Balekile, Stephan Coetzee, Rossouw de Klerk, Bobby de Wee, Martin Dreyer, Schalk Ferreira, Khaya Majola, Siyabulela Mdaka, Andisa Ntsila, Luvuyo Pupuma, Victor Sekekete, Entienne Swanepoel, Dries van Schalkwyk Jurie van Vuuren, Michael Willemse (capt).
Backs: Masixole Banda, Kurt Coleman, Ntabeni Dukisa, Rowan Gouws, Berton Klaasen, Godlen Masimla, Jacques Nel, Yaw Penxe, Sibusiso Sithole, Rudi van Rooyen, Luzuko Vulindlu and Oliver Zono.