A gruelling three-match tour of Ireland and Wales suddenly got tougher for the Isuzu Southern Kings when fiery loose forward CJ Velleman was handed a three-match ban.
Velleman, whose ball fetching skills would have been invaluable in European conditions, was slapped with a ban by the Guinness PRO14 disciplinary committee.
The Kings forward was redcarded in the Kings’ last game in Bloemfontein against the Cheetahs for a dangerous tackle on Junior Pokomela.
Velleman was found to have contravened Law 9.11 (players must not do anything that is reckless or dangerous to others) when he made contact with his elbow on Cheetahs flanker Pokomela’s head while the player was diving to score a try.
However, the Kings welcome back prop Pieter Scholtz, who has finished serving a three-match ban following an incident where he made contact with the eye area of an opponent in a match against the Cheetahs in the first of three South African derbies in January.
“We have had a good week of preparation leading up to our departure on Monday evening for this tour of Ireland and Wales,” Kings head coach Deon Davids said.
“It is set to be a tough tour starting against Conference A leaders Munster on Friday.
“Then we face the defending champions Leinster, before ending off against Cardiff.
“We have shown some gradual progress over the weeks, and we hope to continue on that upward curve.
“Most importantly, we are still hungry to clinch a win or two on tour.”
Davids has selected a 27-man squad for the three matches, which includes 16 forwards and 11 backline players.
Touring squad:
Forwards:
Schalk Ferreira, Alulutho Tshakweni, Pieter Scholtz, De-Jay Terblanche, Lupumlo Mguca, Michael Willemse, Alandre van Rooyen, Tango Balekile, Stephan Greeff, John-Charles Astle (c), Andries van Schalkwyk, Martinus Burger, Andisa Ntsila, Bakkies Brown, Stephan de Wit, Ruaan Lerm.
Backs:
Stefan Ungerer, Sarel Pretorius, Rudi van Rooyen, Bader Pretorius, Berton Klaasen, Tertius Kruger, Meli Rokoua, Bjorn Basson, Yaw Penxe, Masixole Banda, Ulrich Beyers