Port Elizabeth - Kings coach Deon Davids says his side must taking their opportunities if they are they are to challenge Super Rugby's big boys this season.
It was another spirited display from the Port Elizabeth-based franchise on Saturday, and their 41-10 loss to the Stormers at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium perhaps does not indicate how close the match was for large periods.
The Kings looked busy with ball-in-hand, but all to often they knocked on or threw a wayward pass at crucial times.
The result was that, in the end, the Stormers cantered home to a comfortable victory.
"It's all about using your opportunities and on the day they did that better than us," Davids told media after the match.
"I felt that we were right into the game until about 10 minutes left. We had ample opportunities to really get right back into it but we did not capitalise on our opportunities enough.
"If we can do that then the results will look much better."
"If you look at the tries ... we were on the front foot. We had one or two scrums in the opposition half on our own ball which we lost. We can improve a lot on our scrum performance."
Davids said the spirit in the camp at the moment was really good, and that there was a real belief that they could challenge the Stormers on the day.
"We never stopped believing that we can compete," he said.
"We were right in there from the start. We defended well for some time and also had some good moments with the ball in hand.
"I understand it's a young team and there are maybe one or two areas where we aren't gelling yet, but I believe that as the season goes on we will get much better."
The Kings are next in action when they travel to Durban to take on the Sharks on Saturday.