Kings make minimal changes for Ulster clash

Cape Town - Southern Kings coach Deon Davids has named his team for Saturday's PRO14 clash against Irish side Ulster at Kingspan Stadium in Belfast.

Davids has opted for consistency as he made only a few changes to the team that ran out in the 26-19 defeat to the Cardiff Blues in Wales earlier in this month.

No 8 Ruaan Lerm, who missed out  on the action against the Cardiff Blues due to concussion, is back in the starting line-up as he takes the place of Andisa Ntsila, who will provide loose forward cover from the bench this week.

The only other change is at scrumhalf where Stefan Ungerer returns to the starting XV, replacing the injured Sarel Pretorius, who has been left behind in South Africa.

The only new addition to the match-day 23 is the return of Harlon Klaasen on the bench. The centre will provide midfield cover from the bench, in a rotational switch with Berton Klaasen, who has been rested this week.

The Southern Kings have been hard at work the past two weeks preparing for what promises to be a thrilling encounter against the Irish side in what is expected to be wet weather conditions.

"We are expecting rainy and muddy conditions over in Belfast. It is very cold this time of the season in Ireland. So, underfoot it will be a bit slippery which will make the conditions a bit challenging," said Davids.

"Looking back at our last tour, we will have to revisit how we approach it - the way we play our rugby in our back 50, and what we want to achieve in our front 50. I think the guys are starting to understand the importance of having a good mindset and minimising our mistakes.

Saturday's clash is scheduled for 19:30 (SA time).

Teams:

Ulster

TBA

Southern Kings

15 Ulrich Beyers, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Meli Rokoua, 12 Tertius Kruger, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Bader Pretorius, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Ruaan Lerm, 7 Tienie Burger, 6 Henry Brown, 5 JC Astle (captain), 4 Andries van Schalkwyk, 3 De-Jay Terblanche, 2 Michael Willemse (captain), 1 Alulutho Tshakweni

Substitutes: 16 Alandre Van Rooyen, 17 Schalk Ferreira, 18 Lumpumlo Mguca, 19 Stephan Greeff, 20 Andisa Ntsila, 21 Rudi van Rooyen, 22 Masixole Banda, 23 Harlo Klaasen