The Southern Kings team to play the Western Force in the historic first Super Rugby encounter for the Eastern Province franchise this Saturday 23 February was announced this afternoon.
- Starting Line-up: 15. SP Marais, 14. Seargal Petersen, 13. Ronnie Cooke, 12. Andries Strauss (Vice Captain), 11. Marcello Sampson, 10. Demetri Catrakilis, 9. Shaun Venter, 8. Like Watson (Captain), 7. Wimpie van der Walt, 6. Cornell Du Preez, 5. Steven Sykes, 4. David Bullbring, 3. Kevin Buys, 2. Bandise Maku, 1. Schalk Ferreira.
- Replacements: 22. Hadleigh Parkes, 21. George Whitehead, 20. Johan Herbst, 19. Jacques Engelbrecht, 18. Daniel Adongo, 17. Jaco Engels, 16. Edgar Marutlulle.
“It’s good to have your opening fixture in Super Rugby at home and it is fantastic for the people here in the Eastern Cape and for the players to play in this beautiful stadium that has got a great atmosphere and I am certain that we are going to have a capacity crowd,” said Director of Rugby, Alan Solomons.
Unofficial ticket sales figures show 10 000 sold up to early this morning and projections are for ticket sales to reach 35 000 by Saturday.
“This is a game that we have been building up to as a team for a couple of years now and as a squad we have been working towards this day for a couple of months – to be able to play in front of our fans, on our park, wearing the Southern Kings jersey for the first time is a very exciting time for us so I don’t think that motivation and being up for the game is going to be a problem,” said Luke Watson. We can’t wait for that whistle to go,” continued Watson.
Andries Strauss summed up the Western Force as; “…definitely a side that can hold on to the ball through the phases.”
Matt Sexton praised the Western Force for being; “… a well polished side, pretty solid around the set piece extending to across the park.” but; “We have done as much as we can to prepare for this game and we are ready to go.”
Rugby fans attending the game can expect to see a faster game than last season at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, made even quicker by the new “use it within 5 seconds or lose it rule”. Fans are being encouraged to celebrate the ending of the long hard road to Super Rugby.
Watson agreed that the Southern Kings would be starting the season as ‘underdogs’ and “probably most matches as underdogs”. “We do not mind that label at all, we will quietly go about our business and make sure that we represent ourselves both as a team and play to the best of our ability”, continued Watson.
Son of King Williams Town, Bandise Maku said; “I am an Eastern Cape boy and it’s a great feeling to be able to come and play rugby here. This area breeds rugby players and I am grateful to be here to play rugby for the Southern Kings.” Maku represented his local team, Border Bulldogs, at the 2004 Craven Week before moving to the Blue Bulls, for whom he played rugby at youth level before being named in a Blue Bulls squad during the 2006 Vodacom Cup. 2007 Maku was included in the Blue Bulls squad for the 2008 Super 14 season, making his debut in Rotorua against the Chiefs. He joined the Lions for the 2011 Super Rugby season, where he started in 14 games. He then joined the Kings for the 2013 Super Rugby season.
