Southern Kings made a little bit of history this weekend
There was unbridled joy for the Isuzu Southern Kings, who made history at the weekend by scoring their first-ever away win in the Guinness PRO14.
The Kings won 16-14 at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea to record a much needed first win of the season, while the Cardiff Blues overcame a Cheetahs team reduced to 14 men 30-17 at Cardiff Arms Park.
The Kings enjoyed a 13-0 lead at the break in a match played in steady rain thanks to an excellent try rounded off by centre Erick Cronje and some good place-kicking from fullback Scott van Breda, on loan from Worcester. But although the Kings extended the lead to 16 points with another penalty soon after halftime, the dominant Ospreys scrum meant the Kings were under constant pressure after that.
However, some determined defence kept the Ospreys to just two tries, while Welsh international James Hook missed two potential match winning penalties at the death.
“It is hard to put it in words, that was an unbelievable effort from my boys. We got a bit of the rub of the green here and there, but that defensive effort and the way they dug in when the Ospreys were throwing everything at them was just outstanding, I can’t fault a single player,” said Kings director of rugby Rob Kempson.
“We will enjoy this win as winning overseas has been a long time in coming. What was most encouraging about this performance was that it was achieved by a very young team with a few old guys mixed in. We’ve had lots of injuries, particularly to front row players. We don’t have a frontline loosehead prop for a start. But for them to hold onto that victory in conditions that South Africans really aren’t used to was commendable and I take my hat off to them.”
Aki is returning to the contracting table emboldened by his much-enhanced CV and feeling very much entitled to a new IRFU funded central contract. Yet in Munster money is being readied for Bok superstars
– writes @heagneyl 👨💼https://t.co/MsaN8jO8Ut
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 10, 2019
Kempson admitted that he was biting his nails when Hook lined up his two late kicks which, with his team trailing by two points, would have given the hosts victory had they been successful.
“I’ve followed James Hook’s international career closely and was surprised when he missed the closer kick (with a minute to go) but was less convinced he’d have the legs for the long kick (in injury time),” said Kempson.
“We got the lead because we’d done our homework on the Ospreys but then we went into our shells a bit. In fairness to the Ospreys though they played the territory game really well and as I anticipated they had us under the pump in the set-pieces. Their scrum was outstanding. So for us to hold out to win in those circumstances was fantastic.”
A World Cup win in 2023 would be one of the greatest achievements for NZR. The annual results at under-20 level highlight a far more competitive landscape heading towards France, writes @bensmithrugby https://t.co/IAHvRVX2YB
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 10, 2019
Kempson’s elation was juxtaposed with the disappointment that Cheetahs coach Hawies Fourie felt at an opportunity that he felt his team had clearly let slip. The Cheetahs were already under pressure and trailing 8-0 when their No8 Jasper Wiese was red carded for leading with his shoulder in a clean-out in the 14th minute.
“We were looking for a win, so to not even get a point out of the game was very disappointing,” said Fourie.
“It makes it very difficult when you are playing much of the game with 14 and at one stage even 13 players (Gerhard Olivier was yellow carded just before halftime for kicking the ball away). The Blues began very well, they held onto the ball, and their multi-phase attacks put our defence under massive pressure.
“When the red card came I was already concerned as we were 8-0 behind and another score for them would have meant we were in for a long night. I am proud of the guys for showing character after the red card and coming back by scoring two tries. Unfortunately then we gave away two soft penalties just before halftime and they scored soon after the break when we were down to 13 men and that surrendered the initiative back to them.”
– PRO14 – Brendan Nel
In a country where rugby is king, high schools are breeding grounds for future rugby talent that the sporting world acknowledges to be the most plentiful on the planet.
Comments on RugbyPass
late hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
4 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
24 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
24 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
24 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
24 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
28 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
24 Go to comments