PORT ELIZABETH – Southern Kings coach Deon Davids on Thursday named his team to take on Edinburgh in the PRO14 at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Friday evening.
Amongst those missing from the side that did duty against Scarlets last weekend was flyhalf Oliver Zono, who unfortunately sustained a concussion during the Scarlets fixture, which causes his unavailability for selection to be mandatory.
Zono’s place in the No 10 jersey is taken by Kurt Coleman, who returns to the position where he was the incumbent before an injury of his own ruled him out for a while.
In the only other change to the backline, centre Harlon Klaasen is rewarded for a strong showing off the bench against Scarlets by being named in the starting XV. He takes over from Martin Du Toit, who sits this one out due to a shoulder injury.
In a show of confidence in his forwards, coach Davids has retained the entire pack that started the match against Scarlets.
There is a minor shuffle on the bench, where Giant Mtyanda comes in for Jurie van Vuuren, who broke his nose against the Scarlets.
The unusually short turn-around did create a few selection dilemmas.
“We’ve only been able to get in two days of training which isn’t a lot of time to work on our areas of concern.
“And of course when it comes to selection, you have to balance the need for team momentum and continuity against the workloads that various individuals have been carrying and their need for recovery. It has been a bit of a challenge,” Davids said.
“My main message to the team this week has been that they must show patience when on attack and endeavour to play in the right areas of the park.
“We did a lot of good stuff against Scarlets, but spent too much time in our own half. We also need to keep our mistakes to a minimum.”
Southern Kings Team
15 Yaw Penxe, 14 Michael Makase, 13 Harlon Klaasen, 12 Berton Klaasen, 11 Anthony Volmink, 10 Kurt Coleman, 9 Rudi van Rooyen, 8 RuaanLerm, 7 Martinus Burger, 6 Andisa Ntsila, 5 Bobby De Wee, 4 Stephan Greeff, 3 Rossouw De Klerk, 2 Stephan Coetzee, 1 Schalk Ferreira (captain).
Bench:16 Alandré van Rooyen, 17 Luvuyo Pupuma, 18 Pieter Scholtz, 19 Lubabalo Mtyanda, 20 Dries van Schalkwyk, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 Barend Janse van Rensburg, 23 Jacques Nel.