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Port Elizabeth - Lying second from bottom in the SA conference, after two straight defeats, Southern Kings coach Matt Sexton believes the rookies can bounce back as they prepare to face the Waratahs in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
Sexton singled out the likes of Israel Folau and Adam Ashley-Cooper as dangermen, with the Kings hoping to hold off the tourists and retain their unbeaten run against Australian opposition in their maiden Vodacom Super Rugby campaign.
"You have to concentrate for the full 80 minutes and be right on your game," Sexton said.
"They are determined to play from anywhere, and in their back division, Folau and Ashley-Cooper are dangerous players, but if we get our defensive systems right, we can contain them and there can be opportunities in turnovers and bits and pieces.
"Our defence has been good and we need to step it up again against the Waratahs. I am confident that we are going to do that."
With the Kings locked in a battle to avoid a promotion-relegation match at the end of the season, Waratahs assistant coach Alan Gaffney insisted they would not take their hosts lightly.
''The Kings have a hard-working forward pack and they're coached by Alan Solomons, a guy who has been around the block a long, long time, having coached Ulster when I was with Munster, and Northampton in the early 2000s,'' Gaffney said.
"'We have got to approach this game as a battle, but that's no different to what we've been doing.
"The attitude in the squad is great and we don't treat any game easier than the next game. You can't in this competition.
''Over the years there have been too many examples of what can happen if you don't pay everyone the respect they deserve. We won't make that mistake this weekend."
