Kings go down to Munster in tough PE battle

Port Elizabeth - Irish visiting side, Munster, claimed a 31-20 win over the Southern Kings in a tough PRO14 Round 2 clash at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.

After a closely contested opening 40 minutes, the visitors went into the break with a 10-6 lead following a try from fullback Mike Haley and points from the boot of flyhalf, JJ Hanrahan.

Demetri Catrakilis was once again accurate with the boot, claiming the points for the home side in the first stanza.

The Kings started the second half with some firepower which resulted in Stefan Ungerer scoring the home team’s first try of the afternoon after some exciting play by the Kings.

From the 50th minute Munster showed some fighting spirit as they fought back to reclaim their lead and they went on to score three more tries in the second half from scrumhalf, Alby Mathewson, lock Fineen Wycherley and SA-born Arno Botha.

Junior Springboks, Elrigh Cronje, added another try for the home side in the 78th minute, but time was not on the Kings’ side to forge a comeback.

The Isuzu Southern Kings felt let down by themselves despite some positive aspects of their game on the day.

“We started very well – which was always part of our plan, but we faded towards the end of the game,” captain Lusanda Badiyana said after the game.

“We did the same in the previous game, so that is something we have now spoken about and something we need to work on. When we get that right, we can definitely topple a lot of teams.

“Despite the loss, there were a lot of things that went right. We had a good performance with our setpieces being sharp and good attack. We had a few skills errors that let us down and a few calls that didn’t go our way, but most things went well.”

The Southern Kings will next face Ulster in a PRO14 Round 3 clash at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday, 12 October.

“Our preparations for the Ulster game start tomorrow already,” said Badiyana

“We have this one more game at home before we go on tour, so we are definitely out to get that first win here at home. We just need to get that last 20 or so minutes right, and we’ll get good results.”

- Southern Kings