‘Kings will be different challenge at home’
UNBEATEN Irish Pro14 outfit Leinster are wary of being on the wrong end of a ruthless backlash from the Southern Kings at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.
The Irishmen anticipate that the winless Kings will be a different proposition on home soil after being beaten by the Scarlets and Connacht in Europe.
Leinster head coach Leo Cullen said his team must respect the Kings and Cheetahs, despite the South Africans making a slow start.
Leinster are joint leaders of Conference B thanks to wins over Cardiff Blues and Newport and travel to South Africa today after a training session in Dublin.
Cullen, a former Irish international, said he had been keeping a close watch on the Kings and Cheetahs.
“These changes [playing in Pro14] had been mooted. I watched a lot of them in Super Rugby,” he said.
“With the Cheetahs, the core of their team stayed together for a large part of the Currie Cup. I watched a lot of the Currie Cup matches as well. Their team has changed slightly.
“The Kings have changed drastically from what I would have seen in Super Rugby.
“I saw their opening games. That’s our only true reference at the moment. I’ll look back at some of the games they played at home, in Port Elizabeth.
“They are a different proposition there, they had six wins in Super Rugby.
“They were slow starters but they gradually got better and better. They seem to be a very well coached team, they’ve taken some impressive scalps along the way.
“They would have been perceived as one of the weaker teams in the competition.
“They won away at the Bulls, they won away at Sydney Waratahs, they won in Argentina against the Jaguares and they picked up three other wins as well.
“We need to make sure we pay them full respect and prepare as well as we can, given some of the logistical challenges that we may have.
“We’re bringing a group of 28, and it’s making sure those 28 are able to contribute when they are out there.
“There are some interesting decisions that need to take place over the next few days.”
Cullen said Ireland back Rob Kearney was more unlikely than likely to make the trip after being withdrawn at half time on Friday night with a hamstring injury.
The Kings have injury problems of their own to consider after props Rossouw de Klerk and Entienne Swanepoel were ruled out of Saturday’s clash.
They failed mandatory head impact assessments, and Kings medical staff said Swanepoel had been knocked unconscious for a while during the Connacht game.