Kings aiming to entertain fans royally
SOUTHERN Kings skipper Darron Nell expects his team to produce entertaining rugby when they face the Cheetahs in a Super Rugby friendly at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium tomorrow.
"We have worked on a few things about the way we want to play and our backline coach, Carlos Spencer, has also brought in a few great ideas that have worked well in training," Nell said.
"The Kings had a warm-up game within the squad last week and you could see as soon as we retained the ball we could play a bit.
"The mood in training has been very good and the young guys bring a lot of energy to our training," Nell said ahead of a clash that will test his team, which is a blend of youth and experience.
"The guys have been working hard in training and are in good shape. They have also had to learn a lot of new plays and lineout calls, but they're really adapting well," he said. "Nelson Mandela Bay always produces a good crowd for us and if they come out on Saturday there will be some good rugby for them to watch. It will be great to have the place full."
While Kings fans have become accustomed to seeing Nell play at lock, he will play at flank against the Cheetahs, while Rynier Bernardo and Steven Sykes will pack down at lock.
"It is great to be back at loose forward and I am really excited. That is where I started and it was the position I played when I got to the Kings."
Kick-off is at 5pm.
Tomorrow's teams: Southern Kings: BG Uys, Dane van der Westhuyzen, Pieter Stemmet, Steven Sykes, Rynier Bernardo, Paul Schoeman, Darron Nell, Devin Oosthuizen, Jaco Grobler, George Whitehead, Michael Killian, Dwayne Jenner, Ronnie Cooke, Sergeal Petersen, Siviwe Soyizwapi. Replacements: Albe de Swardt, Brenden Olivier, Vukile Sofisa, Stephan Zaayman, Stephan Greef, Thembelani Bholi, Claude Tshidibi, Sonwabo Majola, Shane Gates, Ntabeni Dukisa, and Brian Skosana.
Cheetahs: Hennie Daniller, Cornal Hendricks, Johann Sadie, Francois Venter, Raymond Rhule, Johan Goosen, Kevin Luiters, Philip van der Walt, Lappies Labuschagné, Jean Cook, Lood de Jager, Francois Uys, Coenie Oosthuizen, Adriaan Strauss (c), Trevor Nyakane. Replacements: Ryno Barnes, Caylib Oosthuizen, Nicolaas van Dyk, Ligtoring Landman, Boom Prinsloo, Shaun Venter, Elgar Watts, and Rayno Benjamin.
