Stormers out to step things up
The Stormers are focused on improving key areas of their game in the pre-season clash with the Kings in Port Elizabeth.
The Cape franchise came away with a hard-fought win in their first warm-up game against the Bulls last week, but the result was not as important as the process of executing what they have been concentrating on in their pre-season preparations.
Coach Allister Coetzee explained: "The whole idea last week wasn't about winning, it was about giving guys game-time, it was about getting the things we have worked on for the past seven weeks right."
The outing against the Kings on Friday will have a similar focus, with the emphasis on developing their own game rather than countering the efforts of the opposition.
"It will be the same this weekend making sure that we are internally focused. We want to do what we have been training.
"It is a different challenge against the Kings but it was good to test ourselves against a quality franchise like the Bulls," said Coetzee.
The Stormers coach said that he expects his forward pack to be tested against the Kings, with their maul defence and work at the breakdown set to come under scrutiny.
"There are things that we will be looking to improve on this week. They are also a side that loves to maul so we will be tested there again and see our improvement.
"We want to see an improvement at the breakdown, they will have a go at the breakdown and I want to see how we handle and deal with that," he said.
Kings interim coach Robbie Kempson knows that the Stormers will provide their sternest pre-season test yet after outings against the Cheetahs and Lions.
“No offence to the other teams (Cheetahs and Lions), but I think the Stormers are a completely different kettle of fish,” Kempson said.
“The Stormers are a thoroughly professional outfit with depth that most provinces don't have. This will be an exceptionally competitive game for us.”
However, the Kings camp will take heart from Lions coach Johan Ackermann's comments after the Johannesburg franchise came up with a 19-12 win in last weekend's friendly.
“I was very impressed with the Kings backline and you could see the touch of their (backline) coach Carlos Spencer coming through,” Ackermann said.
“The Kings threw the ball around nicely and you could see the guys were prepared to take a chance.”
In the Stormers, the Kings will face one of the tightest defences in the Super Rugby competition and the attacking qualities of exciting young talents such as wing Sergeal Petersen and fullback Siviwe Soyiswapi will come sharply into focus against such experienced opponents.
Equally, the Kings will need to be at their sharpest on defence to prevent their opponents from running away with the game.
The Kings have made a few changes in the backline to give Spencer more exposure to the talent at his disposal and the former All Black flyhalf will surely be urging his charges to take the fight to the Stormers.
Teams:
Southern Kings: 15 Siviwe Soyizwapi, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Dwayne Jenner, 12 Shane Gates, 11 Eben Barnard, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Sonwabo Majola, 8 Devon Oosthuizen, 7 Stephan Zaayman, 6 Paul Schoeman, 5 Rynier Bernardo, 4 Steven Sykes (captain), 3 Charl du Plessis, 2 Albé de Swardt, 1 Brendon Olivier.
Replacements – from: JC Oberholzer, Lizo Gqoboka, Pieter Stemmet, Stephan Greeff, Thembelani Bholi, Kevin Kaba, Tyler Paul, Jaco Grobler, Ronnie Cooke, Michael Killian, Brian Skosana.
Stormers: 15 Jaco Taute, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Michael van der Spuy, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Scott van Breda, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Schalk Burger (captain), 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Manuel Carizza, 4 Rynhardt Elstadt, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Replacements – from: Deon Fourie, Oliver Kebble, Pat Cilliers, Michael Rhodes, Jean Kleyn, Nizaam Carr, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Louis Schreuder, Gary van Aswegen, Pat Howard, Devon Williams, Ryno Eksteen.
Date: Friday, February 7
Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Kick-off: 19.00 (17.00 GMT)
Referee: Stuart Berry
