Rugby news from the Home of the Kings:
BADIYANA AND MNISI TO LEAD, DE WEE RETURNS FOR KINGS AGAINST NAMIBIA:
Eighthman Lusanda Badiyana will captain the Isuzu Southern Kings team that will face World Cup-bound Namibia in Windhoek on Saturday.
The clash at the Hage Geingob Stadium will kick-off at 16h30.
The Kings arrived in Namibia on Thursday following a narrow 20-24 defeat to Georgia, who are also heading to the World Cup in Japan, to prepare for their two pre-season friendly matches. The second match will be played in Walvis Bay next week.
The Port Elizabeth-based side arrived upbeat in Windhoek, with a keenness to build from their promising performance against Georgia on Tuesday.
Interim Head Coach, Robbi Kempson, has made a number of changes to the team that will be led by Badiyana, who will have the experienced Howard Mnisi as his vice-captain.
“The guys are looking forward to the two games against Namibia,” Kempson said ahead of the clash.
“We have one or two bumps and bruises from the Georgia game and, unfortunately, we seem to have lost loose-forward Ruaan Lerm. We will manage that process and make sure we get him back on the field as soon as possible.
Another much-anticipated return to the team is that of Bobby de Wee, who will be back in action for the first time after sustaining a shoulder injury early on in last season’s Guinness PRO14.
The versatile forward will make a start at lock where he will replace Irish-born Jerry Sexton, who has returned to the island of Jersey where he will join his family for the birth of his daughter.
Kempson has maintained an exciting blend of youth and experience, both in the starting XV and on the bench, for Saturday’s clash.
The head honcho also stressed that the side had gained valuable lessons from the match against Georgia which they hope to implement against Namibia.
“After the Georgia game we know where we are at and what we need to do from an attack, defence and set piece point of view,” said Kempson.
“We will take all this into the two Namibia games and there will be a fresh-looking starting line-up this week after a short turnaround.
“We will ensure that we take the lessons we have learnt forward to make sure we do not make similar mistakes again against another World Cup-bound side.
“It promises to be a good game against Namibia on Saturday.”
The Isuzu Southern Kings team to face Namibia is:
STARTING XV
Forwards (1-8): Lupumlo Mguca, Gareth Heidtmann, Ignatius Prinsloo, Bobby de Wee, Aston Fortuin, Martinus Burger, Thembelani Bholi, Lusanda Badiyana (C).
Backline (9-15): Sarel Pretorius, Bader Pretorius, Christian Ambadiang, Howard Mnisi (V-C), Erich Cronje, Josiah Twum-Boafo, Courtney Winnaar.
REPLACEMENTS: Alandre van Rooyen, Cameron Dawson, Rossouw de Klerk, John-Charles Astle, Henry Brown, Stefan Ungerer, Demetri Catrakilis, John-Thomas Jackson, Aaron Brody, Masixole Banda.
ENDS
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