Kings desperate for 2nd victory of PRO14 season

Port Elizabeth - The Southern Kings are hoping to bank their second win of the PRO14 season when they host Irish side Connacht at the Nelson Mandela University’s Madibaz Stadium on Sunday.

The Kings have scored 23 tries in their eight games to date but it's in the victories column that they’d like to see improvement.

Assistant coach Chumani Booi says the players are eager to get on the winning track.

“Obviously, it’s a home game for us and so we will be targeting it. We know that they are bringing a strong side. We are targeting this match for our second win of the season,” Booi said, making reference to their 38-28 win over last season’s semi-finalists Glasgow Warriors on September 22.

The assistant coach added: “The manner in which we have been able to score tries is a big positive for us. The backs have managed to gel very well. Obviously, the forwards work so hard to give us good ball and they set up the platform for the backs.

“Yes, I am happy with the try-scoring, but we can still improve. When you are not winning, it’s not something that we can celebrate, but it is an achievement we can look at continuing to improve on, and just keep scoring more tries."

The Kings do not expect an easy match against Connacht.

The Irish side boasts a strong team and have had an impressive run so far this season, winning four of eight matches which include victories over Ulster, Scarlets and the most recent one against the Dragons.

“We know that they are much organised and they have a very good set piece. Their scrums and lineouts are very good, so from our side we know that with ball in hand we are very dangerous,” added Booi.

“We are therefore focusing more on our strengths - which is ball in hand and ensuring that we get quick ball to move it to our speedsters outside.

“They have won a few of their matches and are a well-coach, organised team. If you look at their backs, they have a few internationals who can move the ball around quite well. They will be a hard team to stop.”

Sunday’s match is scheduled for 15:00.