Kings to take a break
The Southern Kings will take a short break, before starting preparations for their two-match promotion-relegation series against the Lions.
Having suffered a humbling 13-58 loss at the hands of the Sharks in their final league match of the season, the Kings must now shift their attention to the encounters with the Lions – in Port Elizabeth on July 26 and Johannesburg a week later (August 2).
Kings Director of Rugby Alan Solomons admitted the team, which lacked a number of key players, had not played well in their loss to the Sharks.
But he added the game had to be seen in context of the upcoming promotion-relegation matches against the Lions.
"I would say you have to see this game in context – for us our focus, after the Stormers encounter, was firmly on the promotion-relegation matches," Solomons said.
"A lot of the guys who played at the weekend, haven't had much Super Rugby game time and have not played together as a combination.
"All those factors came into the mix, but we have had to look at the bigger picture," Solomons said, adding: "The players will be given a break until Thursday, when we will regroup and start preparations for the first promotion relegation game."
The Kings mentor expressed his disappointment with the loss to the Sharks.
"We played very poorly. We made a lot of errors and The Sharks capitalised on those errors, which resulted in points," he said.
Solomons said the errors had run through the entire game, with among others, fractured set piece, disappointing line-outs and poor handling skills.
"Our ability to stem their mauls was extremely poor. Three of their first four tries resulted from their driving maul, which we were unable to stem.
"We also failed to stop their momentum. They are a momentum side. We just gave them enormous yards. If you fail to stop them and allow them to build up momentum, then you're in big trouble," he said.
Solomons said, despite the result, he had been impressed with the performance of youngsters Aidon Davis, Shane Gates and Siviwe Soyizwapi, all of whom were a credit to the work being done by the Kings Academy.
