Kings looking to cull Bloem animals
The Cheetahs may be overwhelming favourites, but don't expect the Southern Kings to roll over and play dead in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
Kings coach Matt Sexton said they are "pretty disappointed" with their performance after being whitewashed (34-0) by the Bulls last week and are determined to "right the wrongs" that cost them so dearly.
Speaking to this website ahead of the trip to Bloemfontein, Sexton admitted they will also have to make some adjustments for the different style they will encounter this week.
While the Bulls are often brutal and very direct, the Cheetahs do have more finesse.
"They are very different animals from the Bulls," Sexton told this website, when asked about their second-successive all-South African derby.
"They will certainly present some new challenges for us.
"The Cheetahs like to play ball in hand and can really punish sides that don't shut them down.
"We will need to be on our game defensively and certainly it is going to be tough up there."
He admitted they will work hard this week to lift the team after the let-down of the big loss to the Bulls , especially coming after they had such a strong finish to their Australasian tour.
"We were pretty disappointed with the way things panned out," the Kings mentor said, adding: "You have to give credit to the Bulls, they came to Port Elizabeth with a pretty ruthless approach and played a great game.
"Then, we were a bit off our game and the net result was a bit of a hiding."
Asked about tackling the other inform team in SA in the Cheetahs, he said the men from Bloemfontein are really playing well and playing with confidence.
"It is going to be another tough game, but in saying that – we back our system and we back our players we have been working pretty hard this week to right a few wrongs.
"Our kicking and territory game wasn't too good, we needed a bit more accuracy there.
"We certainly weren't too good in the air and those are some of the things we are looking at this week."
By Jan de Koning
