New flyhalf in Kings squad

Fortune favours the brave and Isuzu Southern Kings head coach Deon Davids has wasted no time in handing former Lions flyhalf Bader Pretorius a berth in his 23-man matchday squad.

With their backs firmly against the wall, the struggling Kings will be desperate to avoid a ninth consecutive defeat when they host Edinburgh at the Madibaz Stadium on Saturday.

“We are pleased to have Bader Pretorius joining us. He arrived at the start of this week and has adjusted quickly and smoothly to our structures.

He is a young talent whom we expect good things from,” Davids said.

It is another tough challenge for the bottom of the log Kings who have won only one of their past 12 matches and will be keen to make home advantage count.

After Saturday’s Guinness PRO14 clash, the Kings face a tough schedule on the road with five away matches against the Cheetahs, Munster, Leinster, Cardiff and Ulster.

A combination of rotation of the squad and new injuries have resulted in Davids making some changes to the team that went down to the Cheetahs. The backline will see one forced change at centre, where Berton Klaasen has been ruled out of action this week after sustaining an eye injury.

His place in the starting XV will be taken by Harlon Klaasen. The change will bring about a positional switch in the midfield which will see Tertius Kruger, who started at outside centre last week, donning the No 12 jersey with Harlon Klaasen playing at outside centre.

Tighthead prop Luvuyo Pupuma will make a return to the starting lineup, replacing Nicolaas Oosthuizen.

A late call will be made regarding the starting loosehead prop for the match between veteran Schalk Ferreira and youthful Alulutho Tshakweni. The 34-year-old Ferreira sustained a knock to his back at training this week.

Should Ferreira take to the field, the 20-year-old Tshakweni will start on the bench and Oosthuizen will drop out of the squad.

“We have had a good week of preparations,” Davids said. “But it has not been without its hiccups as we unfortunately lost Berton Klaasen with an eye injury. We are also keeping a close eye on Schalk Ferreira with his minor back issue. We will make a late call on his participation in the match.”

Fijian, Meli Rokoua, will also make a return to the team from the bench. Teams

Southern Kings:(Nos 15 to 9): Masixole Banda, Yaw Penxe, Harlon Klaasen, Tertius Kruger, Bjorn Basson, Ntabeni Dukisa, Stefan Ungerer. (Nos 1 to 15): Schalk Ferreira /Alulutho Tshakweni, Michael Willemse, Luvuyo Pupuma, Andries an Schalkwyk , JC Astle (capt,) CJ Velleman, Martinus Burger, Andisa Ntsila. Replacements (Nos 16 to 23): Alandre Van Rooyen, Lupumlo Mguca, Alulutho Tshakweni/Nicolaas Oosthuizen, Stephan Greeff, Bakkies Brown, Sarel Pretorius, Bader Pretorius, Meli Rokoua.

Edinburgh: (Nos 15 to 9): Dougie Fife, Tom Brown, George Taylor, Chris Dean, James Johnstone, Jaco van der Walt, Henry Pyrgos. (Nos 1 to 8): Pierre Schoeman, David Cherry, Pietro Ceccarelli, Fraser McKenzie (capt), Callum Hunter-Hill, Luke Crosbie, Ally Miller, Viliame Mata. Replacements: (Nos 16 to 23): Ross Ford, Darryl Marfo, Murray McCallum, Jamie Hodgson, Mungo Mason, Nathan Fowles, Simon Hickey, Juan Pablo Socino.

Referee: Dan Jones ((Wales)

The match will be shown live on SS1 at 5pm.