Kings starting XV unchanged for Scarlets clash

Llanelli - Southern Kings coach Deon Davids has named an unchanged starting XV that will take on the Scarlets in Round 5 of the PRO14 at Parc y Scarlets on Saturday. 

Following an impressive 38-28 win over Glasgow Warriors at the Nelson Mandela University last week, Davids has opted to stick to the same starting XV this week, making only three changes on the bench. 

“It is important that we have consistency in place as a team, hence we have stuck to the same starting XV as last week,” Davids said about his team selection this week. 

“The side played well last week and with each passing week we are improving, particularly in following the game plan and gelling with each other. We are hoping to continue with the good things that we did last week and learn from the areas where we fell short.” 

While the starting line-up is unchanged, the Kings have made three changes on the bench which will see the experienced Rossouw de Klerk as front row backup, Schalk Oelofse covering the second row and a potential debut in the backline for new recruit Tristan Blewett. 

The Kings travelled to Wales on Tuesday, where they face Scarlets in Llanelli. The side will move on to Italy next week where they will take on Benetton. 

Kick-off for Saturday’s match against Scarlets is at 19:30 (SA time).

Teams:

Scarlets

15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Johnny McNicholl, 13 Jonathan Davies (captain), 12 Paul Asquith, 11 Ioan Nicholas, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 8 Blade Thomson, 7 Dan Davis, 6 Ed Kennedy, 5 David Bulbring, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Wyn Jones

Substitutes: 16 Marc Jones, 17 Phil Price, 18 Simon Gardiner, 19 Tom Price, 20 Uzair Cassiem, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Angus O’Brien, 23 Steff Evans

Southern Kings

15 Masixole Banda, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Harlon Klassen, 12 Berton Klassen, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Martin du Toit, 9 Rudi van Rooyen, 8 Ruaan Lerm, 7 Andisa Ntsila, 6 Henry Brown, 5 JC Astle, 4 Bobby de Wee, 3 Luvuyo Pupuma, 2 Michael Willemse (captain), 1 Schalk Ferreira

Substitutes: 16 Alandre van Rooyen, 17 Justin Forwood, 18 Rossouw de Klerk, 19 Schalk Ooelofse, 20 CJ Velleman, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 Ntabeni Dukisa, 23 Tristan Blewett