Fijian flyer Meli Rokoua has been promoted to the Isuzu Southern Kings’ starting lineup for their Guinness PRO14 rugby encounter against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
Rokoua started off the bench against Edinburgh last week, but it was a flash of magic from the Fijian that sparked a spectacular match-winning try by wing Yaw Penxe.
With the visiting team leading 21-20 in the dying minutes, Rokoua broke free and provided an acrobatic off-load for Penxe, who raced away from the defence.
After the Edinburgh clash, Kings head coach Dean Davids said: “I like what Meli showed against Edinburgh. He has been working very hard on getting aspects of his game right and he showed us what he can do.
“You need the X-factor that Meli provides.”
The Kings will want to fix an unwanted blemish on their PRO14 record against the Cheetahs. Despite many fighting displays on their travels in up in this upcoming game.
“The Cheetahs are coached by one of the best scrum coaches in Daan Human. He has been working with that pack for ages. . . . but I think we are making leaps with our own progress as well.
“We by no means believe we will play second fiddle to the Cheetahs scrum.”