Sykes: Kings can only get better
The Kings were only 18-20 down going into the last 10 minutes, however, crucial mistakes cost them in the end against the defending Super Rugby champions.
"I think we played really good rugby for 65-70 minutes," said Sykes. "I think we tried too much and things did not go our way.
"Unfortunately we are not playing with a round ball, so it does bounce in different directions and the last ten minutes it did not go our way.
"It is rugby and it is part of the game. It is a learning for all of the guys here at the Kings and we can only get better from here on.
"I think we were trying too much in the last ten minutes. When we were chasing the game we made a lot of stupid errors."
Southern Kings head coach Deon Davids agreed with his captain's assessment of the last quarter at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
"For 65 minutes I felt the boys played excellent rugby at times. But in the last five minutes, I felt the impact from the bench and some small mistakes let us down and we could not finish the game the way we wanted to," said Davids.
"At times the bounce of the ball also did not go our way. I am disappointed, but quite pleased with the way the guys played.
"I just felt that maybe we played too much rugby in our own half and lacked a bit of territory."
Davids said losing star flank Cyril-John Velleman to injury after just seven minutes was a massive blow for his team.
"Velleman is a special player. He really brought a lot of energy – he was on the ball, he was in the guys' faces in the tackle situation.
"He was big loss after seven minutes. He is an openside flank and we lost a bit of speed when he left.
"Losing him after seven minutes had a big impact on the game. We can just wonder what would have happened if he was still there," Davids added.
@rugby365com
