Kings keep changes to a minimum

Port Elizabeth - EP Kings coach Brent Janse van Rensburg has kept the changes to a minimum as his team prepare for their second Currie Cup Premier Division game against the Sharks in Durban on Saturday (17:05 kick-off).

The Kings went down 51-14 to the Lions in Port Elizabeth last Saturday but Janse van Rensburg said he did not think it would be appropriate to make wholesale changes at this stage.

The only change in the team sees Siyanda Grey, who was on the bench last week, replacing Sylvian Mahuza at right wing.

Janse van Rensburg also included prop Lizo Gqoboka on the bench in going for a five-two split.

"We have a selected a similar combination because we feel we need to maintain a sense of continuity rather than making wholesale changes at this stage," said Janse van Rensburg.

"We have brought Siyanda into the team as we believe he has what it takes to curb the type of rugby the Sharks will bring to the game."

With the scrum being an issue for the Kings last weekend, Janse van Rensburg was happier with the five-two split and felt they could benefit from an extra front row player on the bench.

"We have focused on our scrums to make sure we fix what the problems were and we know we have to focus on the scrum as a united effort," said Janse van Rensburg.

Skipper Luke Watson acknowledged the Sharks were a good side, but said they were looking forward to the opportunity to give an improved performance this week.

"The Sharks are a very good side, with a strong set piece and big backs, so it will be a tough match," Watson said. "The Lions game was a bit of a wake-up call, but we know what areas we have had to work on and hopefully we will come back a bit more polished this week."

Teams:

Sharks:

15. Joe Pietersen, 14. Odwa Ndungane, 13. Wandile Mjekevu, 12. Heimar Williams, 11. Andre Esterhuizen, 10. Lionel Cronje, 9. Stefan Ungerer, 8. Philip van der Walt, 7. Daniel du Preez, 6. Jean Deysel, 5. Marco Wentzel (captain), 4. Etienne Oosthuizen, 3. Thomas du Toit, 2. Monde Hadebe, 1. Juan Schoeman

Substitutes: 16. Franco Marais, 17. Gerhard Engelbrecht, 18. David McDuling, 19. Francois Kleinhans, 20. Michael Claassens, 21. Paul Jordaan, 22. SP Marais

EP Kings:

15 Scott van Breda, 14 Siyanda Grey, 13 JP du Plessis, 12 Tim Whitehead, 11 Luther Obi, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Enrico Acker, 8 Tim Agaba, 7 Stefan Willemse, 6 Luke Watson (captain), 5 Cornell Hess, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Martin Ferreira, 1 Schalk Ferreira

Substitutes: 16 Edgar Marutlulle, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Simon Kerrod, 19 Thembelani Bholi, 20 Jacques Engelbrecht, 21 Kevin Luiters, 22 Karlo Aspeling