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Cape Town - Southern Kings coach Deon Davids has selected his team to take on the SWD Eagles in a pre-season friendly at Outeniqua Park in George on Friday, with lock Steven Sykes being selected to captain the side.
Davids said he had selected Sykes based on his experience and because he had shown leadership in the group.
“We gave Edgar (Marutlulle) and Schalk (Ferreira) leadership opportunities during the session against NMMU Madibaz last week, and want to see how Sykes will manage the role,” he said.
“It is important that you have a few leaders available to you in the group.”
Davids said he was looking forward to the hit out against the SWD Eagles, who had put in a stellar performance against the Stormers last week, having led the game up until the 50th minute.
The SWD Eagles are known for their strong structures and match fitness.
Davids said his aim for the pre-season preparations was to ensure that each player received enough game-time before they face the Sharks in their Super Rugby opener at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on February 27.
“This week we will be focusing more on specific combinations of players, as well as improving on areas identified during last week’s hit out against the Madibaz,” said Davids.
“This will be an important game for us, especially from a match fitness perspective, as it will be our first full length match.”
Kick-off for Friday's clash is scheduled for 19:00.
Kings team:
15 Jurgen Visser, 14 Luzuko Vulundlu, 13 JP du Plessis, 12 Stefan Watermeyer, 11 Michael Makashe, 10 Elgar Watts, 9 Ntando Kebe, 8 Jacques Engelbrecht, 7 Thembelani Bholi, 6 Chris Cloete, 5 Steven Sykes (captain), 4 Schalk Oelofse, 3 Jacobie Adriaanse, 2 Edgar Marutlulle, 1 Schalk Ferreira
Substitutes: 16 Vukile Sofisa, 17 Martin Bezuidenhout, 18 Tom Botha, 19 Tazz Fuzanie, 20 JC Astle, 21 Cornell Hess, 22 CJ Velleman, 23 Stephan Willemse, 24 Junior Pokemela, 25 Leighton Eksteen, 26 James Hall, 27 Theuns Kotze, 28 Shane Gates, 29 Siyanda Grey, 30 JP Jonck
