Winless Kings keeping chins up

 

The Kings, desperately seeking a first win to boost their confidence, went down 28-13 to the Blue Bulls at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Friday night.

 

The home side were well in contention as they dominated territory in the first half and went into the break 11-6 down. However, the Bulls took control in the second half and emerged comfortable winners, the Kings getting their only try after the final hooter had gone.

 

Sykes, though, said they would continue working hard to improve their fortunes.

 

"We just need to remain positive and to keeping working hard at eliminating our errors," Sykes said.

 

"We are still quite a young side and we are looking forward to the future."

 

Sykes blamed basic mistakes for allowing the Bulls to take control.

 

"It is definitely still tough, and we are still making silly errors which are costing us the game," he said.

 

"I felt we played well in the first half, but we struggled to get possession in the second half and the Bulls were able to dominate us."

 

Bulls' forward Jono Ross, who took over the captaincy after Deon Stegmann was red-carded following an elbow punch, said they were happy with their efforts despite failing to get the bonus point for four tries.

 

"We know the Kings can be a tough side, playing exciting rugby, so we were happy with the performance," Ross said.

 

"We were definitely happy with our defence as we have been working hard at that and I think we showed a lot of guts."

 

Man of the match Grant Hattingh put their victory down to a team effort.

 

"It really was a team effort tonight and it shows that all the hard work we have put in is beginning to take effect," the lineout forward said.

 

Hattingh was at the forefront of the Bulls' forward efforts as they often disrupted their opponents' lineouts.

 

"It's all about bonding well as a team and enjoying our rugby," Hattingh said.

 

"We lost a few matches at the start, but the Bulls never fail for too long and the belief in ourselves is starting to pay off," he added.