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Southern Kings made a little bit of history this weekend

By Online Editors
Southern Kings celebrate a Guinness PRO14 try (Photo by Michael Sheehan/Gallo Images/Getty Images)

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.

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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.

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“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.”

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.

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“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.”

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.

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“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.

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Jon 9 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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