Mistakes, Yawning and Boredom MyZA

The quick synopsis of last night’s game between the Eastern Province Kings and South Western Districts (SWD) would be:

First 20 minutes – mistake riddled and lacklustre
Second 20 minutes – boring
Final 40 minutes – going through the motions
EP Kings win 28-20 (halftime 16-11)

One would think that 48 points (could have been much higher but for missed penalties in eminently kickable spots!) between the two teams showed a game full of tries and great running rugby and you would be wrong. Both teams ended the game with only one try apiece (Winger Norman Nelson for the EP Kings and Howard Noble for SWD) and SWD missed the easy conversion of their try.

Flashes of brilliance from the EP Kings Norman Nelson – who benefited from a kick ahead by Siyanda Grey and some brilliant running to score – combined with steady kicking from Louis Strydom (4 penalties) and George Whitehead (3 penalties) ensured an uninspiring win for the local outfit in their first match of the tournament against last years second placed team.

Good points:

The EP scrum is looking powerful
EP won

Points of concern:

Handling
Relatively poor attendance

Celebrating his return to the EP Kings side Jacques Potgieter definitely put his body on the line and was the deserved recipient of man of the match.

Scorers (EP Kings, 28 – SWD, 20)

EP Kings: Try – Norman Nelson. Conversion (Louis Strydom). Penalties (4 Louis Strydom and 3 George Whitehead).
SWD Eagles: Try – Howard Noble. Penalties: (3 – Cecil Dumond and 2 Elrick van Vuuren).

On Friday the Eastern Province Kings travel to East London to take on Border at the Buffalo City Stadium.

The remaining EP Kings ABSA Currie Cup First Division Fixtures:

29 July: Eastern Province Kings vs Tasol Solar Griffons at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth at 19h00
5 August: Valke vs Eastern Province Kings at the Barnard Stadium, Kempton Park at 15h00
12 August: Eastern Province Kings vs Boland at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth at 19h00
26 August: SWD Eagles vs Eastern Province Kings at Outeniqua Park, George at 17h05
2 September: Eastern Province Kings vs Border at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth at 17h05
10 September: Tasol Solar Griffons vs Eastern Province Kings at the North West Stadium, Welkom
16 September: Eastern Province Kings vs Valke at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth at 19h00
23 September: Boland vs Eastern Province Kings at the Boland Stadium, Wellington at 15h00
7 October: A1 vs A4
8 October: A2 vs A3

Twitter Reactions:

EP kings 28-20 SWD. Good start kings15 July 2011 10:58 pm via Twitter for BlackBerry®ReplyRetweetFavorite