Kings taught harsh lesson in PRO14 opener

Cape Town - The Kings got their PRO14 campaign off to a losing start, going down to defending champions, the Scarlets, at Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli, on Saturday.

The Scarlets won 57-10 after leading 15-10 at half-time.

The Scarlets scored eight tries through wings Johnny McNicholl (2) and Steff Evans, fullback Leigh Halfpenny, flyhalf Rhys Patchell, lock Jake Ball, replacement hooker Emyr Phillips and centre Hadleigh Parkes. Halfpenny added three conversions and a penalty while Patchell was target with four further conversions.

The Kings replied with a try by wing Yaw Penxe, while flyhalf Kurt Coleman added the conversion and a penalty.

The Scarlets picked up a full-house of five points for their victory while the Kings left empty-handed.

In next weekend's Round 2 action, the Kings will take on Connacht on Saturday, September 9 at 20:35 (SA time), while the Scarlets travel to Italy to face Zebre on both the same day and at the same time.

Teams:

Scarlets

15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Johnny McNicholl, 13 Hadleigh Parkes, 12 Scott Williams, 11 Steff Evans, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 John Barclay (captain), 7 James Davies, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Rob Evans

Substitutes: 16 Emyr Phillips, 17 Dylan Evans, 18 Werner Kruger, 19 David Bulbring, 20 Will Boyde, 21 Jonathan Evans, 22 Rhys Jones, 23 Paul Asquith

Kings

15 Masixole Banda, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Berton Klaasen, 12 Luzuko Vulindlu, 11 Sibusiso Sithole, 10 Kurt Coleman, 9 Rudi van Rooyen, 8 Andisa Ntsila, 7 Victor Sekekete, 6 Khaya Majola, 5 Dries van Schalkwyk, 4 Jurie van Vuuren, 3 Rossouw de Klerk, 2 Michael Willemse (captain), 1 Schalk Ferreira

Substitutes: 16 Stephan Coetzee, 17 Luvuyo Pupuma, 18 Entienne Swanepoel, 19 Bobby de Wee, 20 Siyabulela Mdaka, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 Ntabeni Dukisa, 23 Jacques Nel