Kings v Sharks preview

The Kings will have home ground advantage when they take on the Sharks in at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday, 9 March 2013, for Round 4 of the Super Rugby tournament.

The most notable difference to the Kings team that played the Western Force is that of Luke Watson, who starts on the bench following after-effects of his throat injury.

Darron Nell will then take over the captaincy, and continue his campaign in the lock position alongside former Sharks player Steven Sykes.

Catrakillis retains his position at flyhalf and will be integral to the Kings’ point-scoring opportunities – his drop-goal abilities could be a handy factor if the Kings manage to control the ball in the Sharks’ territory.

The Sharks will field an unchanged side for the match, and after the win over the Stormers last week, will be filled of confidence for the match.

Jean Deysel keeps his starting position, and rightfully so, as the big loose forward made a massive impact last week, showing up the Stormers in every physical encounter and winning himself Man of the Match.

The PE crowd looked to be a hostile 16^th player in the Kings’ game against the Force, and Pat Lambie will need to keep his nerves and sights set on the poles if any kicking opportunities arise.

Rugby Informer’s take: The Kings silenced a few critics with their opening game, however, the Sharks are finding their combinations to be effective, and that should prove too strong for the Kings. Sharks by 15.

Southern Kings team:

15. SP Marais 11. Marcello Sampson 13. Ronnie Cooke 12. Andries Strauss (Vice Captain) 14. Sergeal Petersen 10. Demetri Catrakallis 9. Shaun Venter 1. Schalk Ferreira 2. Bandise Maku 3. Kevin Buys 6. Cornell du Preez 4. Darron Nell (Captain) 5. Steve Sykes 7. Wimpie van der Walt 8 Jacques Engelbrecht
Replacements 16. Edgar Marutlulle 17. Jaco Engels 18. David Bullbring 19. Luke Watson 20. Nicolas Vergallo 21. George Whitehead 22. Hadleigh Parkes

Sharks team:

15 Louis Ludik, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Paul Jordaan, 12 Francois Steyn (captain), 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Patrick Lambie, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Craig Burden, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Kyle Cooper, 17 Wiehahn Herbst, 18 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 19 Jacques Botes, 20 Charl McLeod, 21 Meyer Bosman, 22 Odwa Ndungane