Cape Town - Outgoing Kings director of rugby Alan Solomons insists his decision to leave the Port Elizabeth side cannot be put down to jumping from a sinking ship.
Solomons confirmed that he will indeed leave the Kings after their second promotion-relegation clash against the Lions this weekend to take up a head coaching role at Scottish side, Edinburgh.
The Kings are embroiled in a desperate fight to stay in Super Rugby having lost their first promotion-relegation playoff match 26-19 at home to the Lions last Friday.
They have to win by at least eight points or with a four-try bonus point to retain their Super Rugby spot in 2014.
But Solomons is confident the Kings can overcome the deficit to stay in Super Rugby.
"I believe the Kings will win by more than seven points on Saturday and that they will again play Super Rugby next year," he told Die Burger's website.
"The reason why I left is because my wife is still in Britain and it was very tough for us these last three years.
"In any case, my contract with the Kings ends at the end of the year and I asked if I could leave earlier to start at Edinburgh."
He will officially start in his new role at Murrayfield on August 9.
The clash at Ellis Park kicks off at 17:00 on Saturday.
Teams:
Kings:
15. SP Marais, 14. Hadleigh Parkes, 13. Ronnie Cooke, 12. Waylon Murray, 11. Scott van Breda, 10. George Whitehead, 9. Shaun Venter, 8. Jacques Engelbrecht, 7. Wimpie van der Walt, 6. David Bulbring, 5. Darron Nell (captain), 4. Cornell du Preez, 3. Kevin Buys, 2. Bandise Maku, 1. Schalk Ferreira
Substitutes: 16. Charl du Plessis, 17. Hannes Franklin, 18. Steven Sykes, 19. Devin Oosthuizen, 20. Nicolas Vergallo, 21. Wesley Dunlop, 22. Shane Gates.
Lions:
TBA
Solomons confirmed that he will indeed leave the Kings after their second promotion-relegation clash against the Lions this weekend to take up a head coaching role at Scottish side, Edinburgh.
The Kings are embroiled in a desperate fight to stay in Super Rugby having lost their first promotion-relegation playoff match 26-19 at home to the Lions last Friday.
They have to win by at least eight points or with a four-try bonus point to retain their Super Rugby spot in 2014.
But Solomons is confident the Kings can overcome the deficit to stay in Super Rugby.
"I believe the Kings will win by more than seven points on Saturday and that they will again play Super Rugby next year," he told Die Burger's website.
"The reason why I left is because my wife is still in Britain and it was very tough for us these last three years.
"In any case, my contract with the Kings ends at the end of the year and I asked if I could leave earlier to start at Edinburgh."
He will officially start in his new role at Murrayfield on August 9.
The clash at Ellis Park kicks off at 17:00 on Saturday.
Teams:
Kings:
15. SP Marais, 14. Hadleigh Parkes, 13. Ronnie Cooke, 12. Waylon Murray, 11. Scott van Breda, 10. George Whitehead, 9. Shaun Venter, 8. Jacques Engelbrecht, 7. Wimpie van der Walt, 6. David Bulbring, 5. Darron Nell (captain), 4. Cornell du Preez, 3. Kevin Buys, 2. Bandise Maku, 1. Schalk Ferreira
Substitutes: 16. Charl du Plessis, 17. Hannes Franklin, 18. Steven Sykes, 19. Devin Oosthuizen, 20. Nicolas Vergallo, 21. Wesley Dunlop, 22. Shane Gates.
Lions:
TBA