Cape Town - Kings head coach Deon Davids was full of praise for the character shown by his side to fight back and defeat the Sharks.
Pieter-Steph de Wet's try in the 77th minute clinched a famous win for the Kings in front of 21 096 fans in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
Looking back on how the game was won, Davids lauded the way his players kept clear heads to produce the victory, the third in a row after defeating the Waratahs and Rebels.
“It is all about character and the guys showed a lot of that tonight. They kept fighting right up until the end‚” Davids told TMG Sport.
“For me that is special. It is not always talent that wins you games. It is more about the guts and the players in the team. It’s about the spirit‚ guts and willingness that the guys have to carry team over.
"That was special in terms of this win. It was a hard-fought battle. I always believed towards the end that we could win it. After we conceded a try‚ I sent out a message that we must stick to our plan.”
Tactical discipline was vital for the Kings and Davids stressed that their approach was centred on commanding territory, even though the Sharks had the upper hand for much of the second half.
“That was to put the Sharks under pressure and kick off to win the ball back and play in their half. For 80 percent of the second half we were under tremendous pressure," added Davids.
"We were in our own half and we conceded penalties and the Sharks kept coming back with penalties and they were getting back into the game."