Spectacular Kings win
Penxe shows his style against Edinburgh
From the moment Yaw Penxe grabbed a pass 55m out from the Edinburgh line, the Isuzu Southern Kings speedster decided nobody was going to stop him.
Penxe’s spectacular charge down the touchline clinched a thrilling 25-21 win for the Kings against Edinburgh in a pulsating Guinness PRO14 showdown.
With Edinburgh leading 2120 in the dying minutes, explosive Fijian Meli Rokoua broke free and provided an acrobatic off-load for Penxe, who raced away from the defence.
“When I got the ball from Meli, I told myself I am going to cross the line and that is just what I did,” Penxe said.
“I know Meli from training and when you are on his inside you can expect the ball anywhere.
“It was great scoring that try, but was not about the try [but] about securing the win.
“From Monday we aimed for this Edinburgh game and we worked hard. We knew it would be a graft.
“It was a great team effort and showed what we can do with ball in hand. In the last six minutes we kept the ball and scored two tries.”
It was only the second win from 13 starts for the Kings.
Head coach Deon Davids said he was proud of his men.
“Yaw is a talented guy and I believe he can go all the way.
“That was a great finish and an excellent break from Meli Rokoua, who showed brilliant skills. Yaw’s try was a classic wing finish.
“I like what Meli showed against Edinburgh. He has been working very hard on getting aspects of his game right and against Edinburgh he showed us what he can do.
“You need the X-factor that Meli provides. He brought it and the finishing of Yaw and Bjorn Basson was superb.”
Davids also praised his team’s heroic defensive effort.
“Our big aim was effort and I was glad they could pull it through. They deserve this win.
“In the game against the Cheetahs last week, and against Edinburgh, our defence has improved tremendously.
“After a knock-on from the kickoff in the second half we defended 30 phases.
“When those things happen it shows the character of the people and how the boys are playing for one another. “That was fantastic to see.” Eight minutes before the end, the Kings were trailing 2113, but tries from Bader Pretorius and Penxe secured victory.
It was a stirring fightback by the home team, who enjoyed a rare moment of success in front of their loyal home fans.
The Kings started the second half with a 13-7 lead and were put under tremendous pressure by Edinburgh, who launched a prolonged assault on the Kings’ line.
The Scottish side went through 32 phases at one stage, before an attempted try by prop Pietro Ceccarelli was disallowed by Welsh referee Dan Jones.
It was a superb defensive effort by the Kings, who put up a brick wall defence.
The Kings put the first points on the board after former Springbok wing Basson gathered his own kick ahead to dot down.
With Banda adding the extras, the Kings found themselves with a 7-0 lead after four minutes.
Scorers
Southern Kings 25: Tries: Bjorn Basson, Bader Pretorius, Yaw Penxe. Conversions: Masixole Banda (2). Penalties: Masixole Banda (2).
Edinburgh 21: Tries: Chris Dean, penalty try (worth 7 points), Ross Ford. Conversions: Jaco van der Walt (2).
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