The next time the Isuzu Southern Kings find themselves with a healthy lead they must put their foot on their opponents’ throats, Kings interim head coach Robbi Kempson said.
During their narrow 16-14 win over the Ospreys in Wales, the Kings found themselves 16-0 ahead after 43 minutes against fellow Guinness PRO14 strugglers the Ospreys.
At the end the Kings were hanging on and could have lost at the death if Ospreys flyhalf James Hook had landed a long-range penalty at a wet Liberty Stadium.
“We did our homework pretty well for the Ospreys game and the players had input as well,” Kempson said.
“Unfortunately we went into our shell a little bit and, in fairness to the Ospreys, they played the territorial game exceptionally well.
“I thought they would they put us under the pump in the second half and their driving maul was good, and we managed to stop one or two.
“Ospreys’ scrums were outstanding.
“For us to hold on to until the end was very good.
“When we get leads like that we have to look at extending them as opposed to sitting back a little bit.
“It is something new for a very young squad, so I hope this will take us forward.”
Kempson said his nerves had been frayed at the end when Hook had an opportunity to snatch a win for the Ospreys at the death.
“I am big fan of James Hook and the way he played the game in his international career.
“I was quite shocked he missed the first penalty to grab a lead.
“The second one was from the halfway line and I was not sure whether he had the legs, to be quite honest.
“When Scott van Breda had a shot from halfway just before halftime, he only managed to sneak it over and he has quite a decent boot.
“They were nerve-racking times and quite a few fingernails were chewed.
“Ospreys coach Allan Clarke and his men have a lot of injuries and they were also desperate for a win, but it went by the side.”
Thanks to the win, the Kings snapped a five-game losing streak.
Clarke said he thought his side deserved to win after they dominated the second half.
“I thoroughly thought we deserved to win the game, but bottom line is we were dominant in every aspect of play bar the scoreboard.”
Asked how concerned he was heading into their opening Champions Cup fixture against Munster, Clarke said: “It’s the bottom of the pit at the moment for us, probably as low as you can go.”
One or two Wales World Cup stars may return next week, he said.
The Welsh side have been hard-hit by World Cup call-ups and injuries, and were missing eight Welsh internationals for their most recent PRO14 matches.
As yet it is unknown when the Ospreys will see a return to action of Alun Wyn Jones, Justin Tipuric, George North, Owen Watkin, Adam Beard, Nicky Smith, Bradley Davies and Aled Davies.
Southern Kings must be more ruthless — Robbi Kempson
Image: GALLO IMAGES
The next time the Isuzu Southern Kings find themselves with a healthy lead they must put their foot on their opponents’ throats, Kings interim head coach Robbi Kempson said.
During their narrow 16-14 win over the Ospreys in Wales, the Kings found themselves 16-0 ahead after 43 minutes against fellow Guinness PRO14 strugglers the Ospreys.
At the end the Kings were hanging on and could have lost at the death if Ospreys flyhalf James Hook had landed a long-range penalty at a wet Liberty Stadium.
“We did our homework pretty well for the Ospreys game and the players had input as well,” Kempson said.
“Unfortunately we went into our shell a little bit and, in fairness to the Ospreys, they played the territorial game exceptionally well.
“I thought they would they put us under the pump in the second half and their driving maul was good, and we managed to stop one or two.
“Ospreys’ scrums were outstanding.
“For us to hold on to until the end was very good.
“When we get leads like that we have to look at extending them as opposed to sitting back a little bit.
“It is something new for a very young squad, so I hope this will take us forward.”
Kempson said his nerves had been frayed at the end when Hook had an opportunity to snatch a win for the Ospreys at the death.
“I am big fan of James Hook and the way he played the game in his international career.
“I was quite shocked he missed the first penalty to grab a lead.
“The second one was from the halfway line and I was not sure whether he had the legs, to be quite honest.
“When Scott van Breda had a shot from halfway just before halftime, he only managed to sneak it over and he has quite a decent boot.
“They were nerve-racking times and quite a few fingernails were chewed.
“Ospreys coach Allan Clarke and his men have a lot of injuries and they were also desperate for a win, but it went by the side.”
Thanks to the win, the Kings snapped a five-game losing streak.
Clarke said he thought his side deserved to win after they dominated the second half.
“I thoroughly thought we deserved to win the game, but bottom line is we were dominant in every aspect of play bar the scoreboard.”
Asked how concerned he was heading into their opening Champions Cup fixture against Munster, Clarke said: “It’s the bottom of the pit at the moment for us, probably as low as you can go.”
One or two Wales World Cup stars may return next week, he said.
The Welsh side have been hard-hit by World Cup call-ups and injuries, and were missing eight Welsh internationals for their most recent PRO14 matches.
As yet it is unknown when the Ospreys will see a return to action of Alun Wyn Jones, Justin Tipuric, George North, Owen Watkin, Adam Beard, Nicky Smith, Bradley Davies and Aled Davies.
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