Scarlets vs Southern Kings LIVE | Guinness PRO14
Follow all the action on the RugbyPass live blog from the Guinness PRO14 match between Scarlets and the Southern Kings at Parc y Scarlets.
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South African international Werner Kruger takes over the captaincy for the Scarlets. With centre Steff Hughes sidelined because of a shoulder injury picked up during last weekend’s defeat Edinburgh, the experienced Kruger takes over the armband for the first time this season.
The Scarlets starting XV shows three changes from the 14-9 defeat to the Scots. Corey Baldwin has recovered from a rib injury to take his place on the right wing, while Paul Asquith comes into midfield to replace Hughes in the only other change behind the scrum.
Upfront, Wales international Samson Lee has been given more time to recover from a calf issue so Kruger again packs down at tighthead alongside hooker Taylor Davies and loose-head prop Phil Price.
(Continue reading below…)
Clive Woodward calls on the SRU to take drastic action against Finn Russell
Fijian international lock Tevita Ratuva comes in and partners fellow Pacific islander Sam Lousi in the second row, while the back row is the same as last weekend. Aaron Shingler is the lone player released from Six Nations duty and he will slot in alongside Macleod and Uzair Cassiem.
On the bench, hooker Ifan Phillips, who has linked up with the squad on a short-term loan deal from the Ospreys, is named among the replacements; prop Dylan Evans comes in for Rob Evans, who was on the bench for Wales in Cardiff on Saturday, while back three player Tom Rogers is set for his first PRO14 appearance of the season.
Scarlets forwards coach Ioan Cunningham said: “We had a lot of territory and possession against Edinburgh and we have learned a lot from that match – how to finish close to the try line and being clinical in those areas, little details which we have put right this week and we’re looking forward to getting on the field on Sunday to make those changes.”
TEAM NEWS | Werner Kruger takes over captaincy for Sunday's clash with @SouthernKingsSA #inthepack
Werner Kruger yn cymryd drosodd capteniaeth y Scarlets ar gyfer gwrthdaro Kings #ynypac
Full story ? https://t.co/56WThKxPdB pic.twitter.com/GYxfaL6sOt
— Scarlets Rugby (@scarlets_rugby) February 21, 2020
Looking ahead to the challenge of the Kings, Cunningham added: “We have done a lot of work looking at them and they are a tough side, they bring a lot of physicality but they also have a lot of variation in their play. Their coaches are smart with different ploys and if you give them a sniff they will take advantage. They have athletes who can cause damage if you give them time and space.”
Meanwhile, No8 Elrigh Louw will make a return to the Southern Kings after serving a one-week suspension for a dangerous tackle versus the Cheetahs earlier this month. Louw returns to the starting XV in the only personnel change to the forwards that did duty when beaten by Munster last weekend.
Bobby de Wee makes way for Louw and Ruaan Lerm, who earned his 50th cap playing at No8 in Cork, shifts to blindside flank. The experienced Howard Mnisi has been included as the starting inside centre this weekend where he will form a partnership with Sibusiso Sithole.
? TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT ?
"The Sheriff" Elrigh Louw is back in the starting XV against @scarlets_rugby … and so is the experienced Howard Mnisi.
Courtney Winnaar will start at fullback, while Piet Scholtz also returns, on the bench, after serving a suspension. #SCAvKIN pic.twitter.com/AcsSdhQtEZ— Southern Kings (@SouthernKingsSA) February 21, 2020
Erich Louw, who wore the No12 jersey a week ago, shifts to left wing as Eddie Ludick, who made his debut last weekend, moves to provide cover from the bench. The versatile Courtney Winnaar has also been handed a starting berth, this time at full-back where he replaces Andell Loubser.
Also returning from a four-week suspension is Pieter Scholtz. He will provide front row cover from the bench.
“Training conditions have been difficult – very windy, lots of rain and obviously a lot of flooding in Wales at this point in time. The guys have tried to get out as much as they can to get used to local conditions,” said interim head coach Robbi Kempson.
“Hopefully, we can get our forwards to match them upfront and put one or two things we have put in place specifically for this game into play. Scarlets are an exceptionally good attacking side.
“With a guy like Brad Mooar as the head coach, you’d expect that kind of game from all his experience from the Crusaders. We’ll expect a game that’s played at a high tempo.”
WATCH: RugbyPass Rugby Explorer takes a trek through South African rugby
Comments on RugbyPass
Does a blitz defence not have a weekness against a well-placed grubber kick, perhaps angled cleverly. All the defence is up and the full-back can only cover so much ground. Thoughts?
28 Go to commentsWhile Iose is destructive in the Canes set-up, he is not big for an international 8 and could struggle against the top teams. With his speed, he could be developed into a seven but, as Ben points out, he doesn’t show a scavenging game with the Canes or make dominating tackles. Sotutu has shown a step up this year and attitude plus motivation seems to be the big areas of growth. Deserves another AB shot imo.
3 Go to commentsNaholo is my only question mark for this side. He wasn’t the only one who had a forgettable game against the Brumbies but he was passive, defensively poor and generally lacked energy. Needs to get a whole lot busier for me. I would have liked to see Sullivan on that wing with Higgins on the bench (if staying with a 6-2 as BeegMike points out on here!)
3 Go to commentsWell, I am sure that Eben said exactly what he meant to say, exactly how he meant to say it. Does he strike you as a man that doesn't know arrogance when he sees it. He should know it because he has shaken the arrogance out of many foes before.
130 Go to commentsPls get it into your thick arrogant heads that the final was played by two Southern Hemisphere teams. The best against the best and that Argentina was just unlucky otherwise non of the Northetn Hemisphere teams would have seen the light of day.
130 Go to commentsAs long as New Zealand youth are involved in sport they are passionate for, and are well supported, it’s all good. I love league as well as rugby. NRL clubs have long since scouted the First 15 competitions, the NH and Japan scout super rugby and NPC. It’s a miracle there’s any players left for the all blacks to pick from.
4 Go to commentsI'm a Bok fan, so I don't say this lightly, but he is one of my all time favourite players. I am really going to miss watching him play. Thanks for many great memories. You are a true legend of the game.
3 Go to commentsBest way to deal with all of this is to play another game.
130 Go to commentsIt’s 12-15 games Luke. Ringrose has barely played in 2024 and Henshaw and Keenan have also been out for spells in the same time period. There are always injuries and for younger players to play with the likes of Barrett will be great for them. It’s just looking for negatives where there are none.
5 Go to commentsAndy Goode pushing his own agenda with very dubious considerations on refereeing performances. Luke Pearce speaking a bit of French doesn’t make him a good and adequate referee for the Champions Cup final; his latest refereeing performance in particular was not so great.
4 Go to commentsJordie knows that he has to earn the right to put on the jersey, whatever that jersey might be.
5 Go to commentsThe best outside centre in the world at one point. He will be greatly missed.
3 Go to commentsYip his great for the big moments when needed as a safa really enjoy watching him
4 Go to commentsOne that will start to come up from now on is penalties for back pushes during kick chase scrambles. Very difficult to detect. In Croke Park if you replay the Hendy NH try, you will see Furbank push Porter in the back, who collides with Larmour knocking the ball across into Hendy’s path to dot down. A more significant example was in the RWC QTR final where Arendse pushes Fickou into two other French players for the ball to spill into Arendse’s path for him to gather and run in to score SAs first try. Not cheating if you are not caught and very difficult to spot but with kicking becoming so critical I feel its an area that will referreeed/TMO-ed more.
4 Go to commentsWhat a pathetic little twit Andy Goode is, as if we care what he thinks…..😂
130 Go to commentsFoxy has been a wonderful player for the Scarlets and Wales.
3 Go to commentsNika the Georgian is the best referee in the world at the moment. Luckily we will be spared the shite SH refs and Barnes will hopefully remain retired given how shite and embarrassing he was at the RWC.
4 Go to commentsThis is the most exciting game of the summer imo, as we really won’t know in advance how both teams are going to play. - Will Robertson just reproduce his Crusaders tactics from last year, or will there be a conscious effort to borrow from the Hurricanes and Blues, and from the aspects of the ABs world cup strategy that worked well? - England under Borthwick have put in some good performances playing attacking rugby, and some good performances playing kick-oriented defensive rugby. Will Borthwick try to merge them together into a single all-court game, or will he continue switching between different approaches depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition?
1 Go to commentsI’m predicting an aggregate points difference of no more than +/-10pts across both matches this series.
1 Go to commentsI’m predicting an aggregate points difference of no more than +/-10pts across both matches this series.
9 Go to comments