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Cape Town - Kings coach Deon Davids has called out his players following their 42-19 loss to the Lions at Ellis Park on Saturday.
The Kings went into the match with a new-found belief after they had run the Sharks close in Durban the week before (19-17), but after one half against the Lions they were 35-12 down and looking more like the basement dwellers they were expected to be this year.
Davids, speaking after the match, was not happy as he criticised his side's execution at set-piece and their inability to hold onto the ball for extended periods.
"I'm very disappointed in the performance of the team today. I feel that we let ourselves down," he said.
"The game is very simple. You can only win games if you have possession. I think our scrums and lineouts let us down throughout the game."
The Kings lost four of their own lineouts and two of their own scrums, and Davids was not happy with his side's efforts in those departments.
He did acknowledge the improvement in the second half, but by then the game had already been won.
"We were a bit asleep in the first half," he said.
"We improved in the second half and it was a much better performance, but if you play against quality sides in this competition, if you're not focused from the start you will stand behind the poles and that is what happened with us in the first half.
"The guys came out and we looked more energised with the minimal opportunities that we had. We looked quite good with the ball in hand, but then also again I think we lost some patience when we got into the opposition 22 by not holding onto the ball for longer phases.
"We forced play with ill-decision with our kicks and mistakes and that's something we need to improve on.
"We've got exciting players ... but if you don't get quality ball from your set pieces you're always going to struggle. We must look hard at this. We had a frank discussion about this now and we need to take accountability to ensure that we produce better outcome from our set pieces."
The Kings have a bye this weekend before a two-week tour of Australia where they take on the Force and the Waratahs. They will leave on Saturday with a squad of 28 players.
