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Cape Town - Kings director of rugby Alan Solomons insists there's nothing sinister about Luke Watson pulling out with flu against the Stormers at Newlands on Saturday.
Much hype was made about Watson returning to the home of his former province, and when he was withdrawn from the Kings side on Thursday, there were suggestions it may have been a deliberate ploy to avoid an expected hostile reception.
However, Solomons rubbished any such notion, and said they will not risk a sick player.
"There's absolutely nothing sinister. He had a head cold before the Free State (Cheetahs) game, and he didn't feel good when he played. He came in this morning (Thursday) and he's full of flu," Solomons told the Cape Times.
"He is very upset that he's not able to play. He was in bed on Monday and Tuesday, and we hoped that he would recover by Thursday. It's dangerous to play someone who's got flu."
Centre Andries Strauss will lead the Kings in Watson's absence.
A massive cold front is set to hit Cape Town on the weekend, with 100% chance of heavy rain predicted for Saturday's game, which kicks off at 17:05.
Teams:
Stormers:
15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Jean de Villiers (captain), 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Deon Fourie, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 De Kock Steenkamp, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Chris Heiberg, 18 Gerbrandt Grobler, 19 Don Armand, 20 Dewaldt Duvenage, 21 Gary van Aswegen, 22 Gerhard van den Heever
Kings:
15 SP Marais, 14 Siviwe Soyizwapi, 13 Ronnie Cooke, 12 Andries Strauss (captain), 11 Marcello Sampson, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Nicolas Vergallo, 8 Jacques Engelbrecht, 7 Wimpie van der Walt, 6 Cornell du Preez, 5 David Bulbring, 4 Darron Nell, 3 Kevin Buys, 2 Bandise Maku, 1 Schalk Ferreira
Substitutes: 16 Hannes Franklin, 17 Grant Kemp, 18 Rynier Bernado, 19 Devin Oosthuizen, 20 Shaun Venter, 21 Shane Gates, 22 George Whitehead
Much hype was made about Watson returning to the home of his former province, and when he was withdrawn from the Kings side on Thursday, there were suggestions it may have been a deliberate ploy to avoid an expected hostile reception.
However, Solomons rubbished any such notion, and said they will not risk a sick player.
"There's absolutely nothing sinister. He had a head cold before the Free State (Cheetahs) game, and he didn't feel good when he played. He came in this morning (Thursday) and he's full of flu," Solomons told the Cape Times.
"He is very upset that he's not able to play. He was in bed on Monday and Tuesday, and we hoped that he would recover by Thursday. It's dangerous to play someone who's got flu."
Centre Andries Strauss will lead the Kings in Watson's absence.
A massive cold front is set to hit Cape Town on the weekend, with 100% chance of heavy rain predicted for Saturday's game, which kicks off at 17:05.
Teams:
Stormers:
15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Jean de Villiers (captain), 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Deon Fourie, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 De Kock Steenkamp, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Chris Heiberg, 18 Gerbrandt Grobler, 19 Don Armand, 20 Dewaldt Duvenage, 21 Gary van Aswegen, 22 Gerhard van den Heever
Kings:
15 SP Marais, 14 Siviwe Soyizwapi, 13 Ronnie Cooke, 12 Andries Strauss (captain), 11 Marcello Sampson, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Nicolas Vergallo, 8 Jacques Engelbrecht, 7 Wimpie van der Walt, 6 Cornell du Preez, 5 David Bulbring, 4 Darron Nell, 3 Kevin Buys, 2 Bandise Maku, 1 Schalk Ferreira
Substitutes: 16 Hannes Franklin, 17 Grant Kemp, 18 Rynier Bernado, 19 Devin Oosthuizen, 20 Shaun Venter, 21 Shane Gates, 22 George Whitehead
