The Southern Kings announced their team against Brumbies today, with a number of changes as team rotations come into effect.
Most notable changes are:
- Waylon Murray starts at 13, with Ronnie Cooke moving to 11. Marcello Sampson returns from injury (bruised heel) on the bench.
- Nicolas Vergallo starts at 9, with Shaun Venter (bruised ankle against Hurricanes) on the bench
- Hannes Franklin starts at 2 with Bandise Maku on bench
- Grant Kemp starts at 3 with Kevin Buys on the bench
- Rynier Bernardo starts at 5 with David Bulbring on the bench
- Cornell du Preez returns from injury (tight hamstring) and starts at 8, with Jacques Engelbrecht on the bench.
Southern Kings Director of Rugby, Alan Solomons said the the changes were a combination of player injuries, as well as rotating the players due to the intensity of the competition to date.
Most notable on the back line was the move of Ronnie Cooke to left wing, with Waylon Murray starting at 13; “Waylon has come back from a long injury and hadn’t played for a year. We’ve built him up to play, giving him 30 minutes against Border in the Vodacom Cup, 30 minutes against the Crusaders and 55 minutes against the Hurricanes, and felt that the time was right to let him start,” said Solomons.
“Ronnie Cooke has played exceptionally well for us, he has been one of the leading lights in our team,” he said.
“He’s played a lot of his rugby when he was overseas in top 14 at left wing, so he moves into that position,” he said.
Solomons said Shaun Venter had been moved onto the bench for the game, with Nicolas Vergallo given an opportunity to start at 9. He said that, while the scan had been clear on Venter’s ankle, there were concerns over the fact that he had not been able to practice with the team during the week.
Southern Kings Team to Play Brumbies at Canberra Stadium, Canberra on Friday 5 April 2013:
- Starting Lineup: 15. George Whitehead, 11. Ronnie Cooke, 13. Waylon Murray, 12. Andries Strauss (Captain), 14. Sergeal Petersen, 10. Demetri Catrakilis, 9. Nicolas Vergallo, 1. Schalk Ferreira, 2. Hannes Franklin, 3. Grant Kemp, 6. Devin Oosthuizen, 4. Steven Sykes (Vice Captain), 5. Rynier Bernardo, 7. Wimpie van der Walt, 8. Cornell du Preez
- Replacements: 16. Bandise Maku, 17. Kevin Buys, 18. David Bulbring, 19. Jacques Engelbrecht, 20. Shaun Venter, 21. Marcello Sampson, 22. Elric van Vuuren
