All hail the Kings
23 Feb 2013
The Kings scored an historic Super Rugby victory in their tournament debut in Port Elizabeth.
The Kings won 22-10 in front of a crowd exceeding 30 000 against Australia’s Western Force.
What a magnificent achievement. What a wonderful night for rugby in the Southern and Eastern Cape. What a night to remember.
South Africans be proud of a team that played for themselves, their region and their country.
Hopefully now the hatred with subside.
Luke Watson, a former Grey High captain, led out the Kings and proved inspirational in the opening 30 minutes before an accidental elbow to his larynx ended his evening. His replacement Jacques Englebrecht was as imposing as every Kings player stood tall in defence to turn a 10-5 deficit into a 11-10 lead and ultimately victory.
The Kings players with Super Rugby experience like hooker Bandise Maku, lock Steven Sykes and midfielders Andries Strauss and Ronnie Cooke were outstanding but it was a local teenager, winger Sergeal Petersen, who stole the hearts with a brace of tries to be named man of the match.
Petersen was in school at Grey High just three months ago and what made the night even more monumental was the first try should go to local lad from the region’s greatest rugby institution and that the player of the night should be a product of Grey High.
Kings Director of Rugby Alan Solomons deserves every accolade, as does coach Matt Sexton.
‘It was an incredible defensive effort,’ said Solomons. ‘We turned over a lot of ball and made a lot of mistakes but they will learn at this level. But their commitment can’t be faulted. It was a huge effort.’
Kings stand in captain Andries Strauss said the players were always confident they were good enough to win.
‘We will enjoy the night, but we are a grounded unit and we know it just gets tougher with each match.’
The Kings were given no price and no chance and done no favours.
The Kings lead the South African Conference after week one and that alone is a screen shot that makes this year among the most historic in South Africa’s Super Rugby history.
The Kings were everything but an embarrassment. They were an inspiration and they deserve every bit of applause for what was achieved in Port Elizabeth on Saturday night.
No new team in the competition has ever won in their first match. That bit of history belongs to the Kings.
By Mark Keohane
944 Comments
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24 Feb 2013, 14:13 pm
trans – yes I believe YOU will and those 50pointers are going to cause alot of in-fighting in a region renowned for it, and that’s when the test will come.
24 Feb 2013, 14:13 pm
Another 3 day skittle sticks, sic,
test for the Proteas.
I should have gone today, tomorrow will be too late
24 Feb 2013, 14:16 pm
@cab-785:
With the Aus teams not putting that much emphasis on forward play, I think the Kings have a chance against their teams for another win.
They may even surprise one of the SA teams in P.E. Historically, the Blue Bulls got moered regularly in P.E. in the past by EP..
I think they are good for 4 wins.
@skopdiekan-790:
Those stats made for sad reading indeed.
The supporters of those teams obviously suffer from selective memory loss seeing that most of the anti-Kings brigade seem to be coming from those franchises.
24 Feb 2013, 14:16 pm
@Slappes-795: to be honest a lot of people – peripheral rugby watchers – were doubting whether we were even ready for SR. i offered colleagues of mine tickets some poliltely had excuse not to go but in earnest they didn’t see what i was excited about…
the marketers have a big job on their hands…
24 Feb 2013, 14:16 pm
@cab-794:
I take it thats a well done to the kings from Cab…
24 Feb 2013, 14:17 pm
Yip I wanna see all these faux-kings supporters in a few weeks time still pretending they such great fans. Mark this thread down. You won’t see a fkn sausage in their defence when they getting banged up – watch.
24 Feb 2013, 14:18 pm
What the Kings did yesterday was to make some of the other teams sit up and take notice.
Maybe even revise their thinking about facing them with a weakened, or rested, team.
24 Feb 2013, 14:19 pm
@cab-806:
Seems that is the case with your national team….i have seen some ugly comments on here about the Boks and coaches and players. Kings well be no different
24 Feb 2013, 14:21 pm
@nortierd-807:
Yep….but the other teams will be thinking ” thanking the lord, that they were not the first team to lose to the Kings “….so the pressure will be off.
24 Feb 2013, 14:22 pm
Early days but it looks like trophy number 12 coming up for the NZ boys, too much skill too much pace.
24 Feb 2013, 14:23 pm
@skopdiekan-793: Couldn’t agree with you more.
24 Feb 2013, 14:25 pm
@cab-806:
Cab, the majority of bloggers are not King supporters and still aren’t, but some of us are glad for the real King supporters and are really enjoying their delight.
If the Kings play the Stormers, I will still support the Stormers against them, and if the Kings win the match, I will still support the Stormers, but will congratulate the Kings on their victory.
IMO, what they managed yesterday is more than just winning a game of rugby.
We expect to beat the Force and some of the weaker teams and have become so blasé about it, maybe we take these wins for granted, who knows?
Yesterday the Kings showed that it is a huge achievement to win, so I hope some of our other teams take note and realize you must work for a victory
24 Feb 2013, 14:28 pm
@goyougoodthing2-798:
it’s disturbing to say the least.
i watched the Bulls and Kings games (even though technically i swore off super rugby) and from what i saw i have deep reservations about the standard of reffing and any consistency, so far. lets not even get started on the tmo’s.
well, briefly on the tmo’s i will say i find it hard to believe the Bulls try was legitimate. the whole point of giving the tmo extended powers was to deal withthis sort stuff wtf?
for the Kings game i can say the ref and support staff should be assesed by a technical committee because the general flow of decision making was alarming throughout the entire game.
from what i have heard of the Kiwi refs they have as usual given their teams free reign to to whatever the fark they want on the field (even though this is why the rules have been changed in the first place, because of them). this is of course the biggest danger which this tournament faces as the Kiwi sides are by far the biggest cheats and will once again sink this ‘World Wrestling Rugby Enterntainment’ show its expected farcicality.
the SA teams fortunately do not cheat anywhere near enough to expose the so far not too good SA refs, ar’s and tmo’s.
24 Feb 2013, 14:30 pm
Who’s a faux kings supporter dummy f’ng faux fckface pseudoscience creeps who can’t see sh’t for faux false fallacies of kicking a good cause for the sake of your inbreeding of racial hatred. You dumber than dumb idiotic f’ng two face creep. Some true saffa soul supporters have been backing Kings inclusion in spite of all your spineless spindles of spreading anti sentiments of pathetic pitiful political agendas to uphold and appease the outright mediocrity you been so attached to for all these mediocre years of professional protection racketeering.
24 Feb 2013, 14:30 pm
@Hurricane-809:
Maybe Cane…. You have a point, but I still think the next few games against the Kings some coaches might revise their thinking.
@NZINCHINA-810:
Judging by the 1st round only, looks like it, but 20 rounds is a long time
24 Feb 2013, 14:36 pm
Party by all means but don’t slag off other teams to do it, the lions have a long and proud history and from a rugby viewpoint are far more deserving than ep who are not even in the currie cup – griquas beat them. The sharks have continuously been one of SA better teams and the bulls have won the tournament three times.
So whether a team wins 0, 1 or 2 games per season is irrelevant – the kings have my full support, it’s the correct decision that they get a franchise to develop player talent in that region, but don’t try make the case that they were more deserving on rugby ability grounds because that simply is not true – there 100 years of currie cup history to support any historical statistics you care to produce.
24 Feb 2013, 14:38 pm
These fuckwit pretending there won’t be a sausage of supporting kings when chips are down are the outright chops in the choruses of **** singing the kings demise because some **** look for mediocre excuse to perpetrate a fallacy. Some here have been supporting kings against all the denialist denigrating for the better part of the SR song and dance routine.
Mark down this post.. see who’s a true believer in equal mediocrity for equal measures after all the fat laden ladies have sung their last choruses.
24 Feb 2013, 14:40 pm
@skopdiekan-817: The tragedy is that the Kings have already done better than the Placid Cubs and yet may well be the team which features in the relegation match at the end of the season, while the Cubs got off scot free for over a decade!!!! The Kings were royally screwed over.
Come on Kings!
24 Feb 2013, 14:41 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-813:
“(even though technically i swore off super rugby)”
What does this even mean?
24 Feb 2013, 14:44 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-813:
this is not to say the SA refs, ar’s and tmo’s shouldn’t be exposed.
of course the standard should be lifted.
24 Feb 2013, 14:45 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-813:
Here you go again.
Seen as you dont watch the games, where do you get off calling the kiwi refs cheats?
24 Feb 2013, 14:46 pm
@nama1-819:
Every game I pick the wrong side I swear AT Super Rugby.
This disastrous past week end I had plenty to swear at.
24 Feb 2013, 14:46 pm
@nama1-819:
you know, i’m not supposed to be here commenting in the first place.
24 Feb 2013, 14:46 pm
@nortierd-815:
Yeah suppose no one wants to be the second team to lose to them
24 Feb 2013, 14:47 pm
ag get fkd you reactionary overhyped twatass. You’ve already destroyed any semblance of what passed as discussion on this website, so carry it right on. Idiotic demagogue.
24 Feb 2013, 14:48 pm
@Hurricane-821:
glad you asked.
two things really,
1. the scoreline for all the Kiwi games seems rather suspicious and,
2. i asked two or three of the bloggers here and their testimony was pretty damning.
24 Feb 2013, 14:49 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-820:
Bakkies, the only standard that should be lifted is the standard of our play.
This past weekend showed that the NZ teams are light years ahead of us regarding skill and attack.
I don’t know if they will manage to play like that against our defense orientated teams, but regarding spectator value and enjoyable rugby, we are a poor second to them.
24 Feb 2013, 14:51 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-826:
well there we have it.
The scoreline and 2 or 3 people told you they cheated……. lol.
I heard the Bulls team cheated most the game by 4 people but i have my own mind and decided that i didnt see the game and did not pass judgment…..maybe you should as well
24 Feb 2013, 14:54 pm
Well i am out of here.
Once again another thread has been turned into Kiwis cheating…… pathetic really the insecurity some people have.
24 Feb 2013, 14:55 pm
@nortierd-827:
if you constantly cheat and the ref was predisposed to constantly blow… there would dissapear your spectator friendly spectacle flow…
simply put:
1. we know they cheat.
2. if the ref was to blow they would not have had a high scoring spectacle flow.
i am amazed by the extent to which their WWRE anctics continues to dupe and enthrall so many seemingly smart rugby people.
24 Feb 2013, 14:55 pm
@cab-825:
Do what I do..go right past. I can feel my IQ spiralling downwards just glancing at the childish mess.
24 Feb 2013, 14:56 pm
@Hurricane-829:
Cheers Hurri
You know it’s not all of the bloggers.
Sorry about your team, I put my Superbru curse on them, so am really disappointed they lost
24 Feb 2013, 14:58 pm
@Hurricane-829:
you dont have to take everything so personally, Hurri
this is not an attack on your country and you are not ‘Captain Nz’.
i hope you’ll have a good day all the same though,
cheers
24 Feb 2013, 14:59 pm
@Hurricane-828:
i believe the Bulls were the better team on the day and by rights should have won regardless but I for one am most disturbed by the tmo awarded try to the Bulls.
24 Feb 2013, 15:03 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-830:
Luckily I am not a smart rugby person Bakkies.
My Superbru position on the log will attest to that.
TR is nr. 1 after week 2, a great achievement, so he can speak from a position of smarts.
I love watching the game, and in my stupid opinion, there are few teams that play the game better than the NZ sides.
The. Chiefs v Highlanders was brilliant to watch, and considering it was their first outings made it even more remarkable.
The Blues v Canes was also better to watch than anything our derbies served up.
The Sharks v Cheetahs got exciting at the end, but only because the Cheetahs don’t seem to realize when they are beaten.
The SA side I enjoyed the most was the Kings, their guts and determination grew on me as the game went on.
24 Feb 2013, 15:04 pm
@nortierd-832:
Thanks Norti…. i know its not many bloggers that accuse all of our rugby as cheating rubbish….just a couple, Bakkies and his alts.
But yeah i was hoping for a Canes win but it was good to see the Blues get back into it. Canes always start slow at start of season but if we just managed to hold a few balls in that game then i think things would have been different but thems the breaks
24 Feb 2013, 15:05 pm
regarding the cricket on at the moment, is this live or hilights?
one never knows these days.
24 Feb 2013, 15:08 pm
@nortierd-835:
i’m glad for you, Nortie.
the Kings game was definitely enjoyable but to an extent but i was constantly left uneasy by the reffing.
24 Feb 2013, 15:14 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-837:
Live
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-838:
Watching a rugby game to see the ref should be reserved for the ref’s wife only.
Honestly, who cares about the ref?
24 Feb 2013, 15:23 pm
Nortier
Pooper carries on about SA rugby being k ak.
Bakkies carries on about the keewees supposed cheating.
They are cut from the same cloth.
24 Feb 2013, 15:26 pm
@Fern-840:
Ja Fern
They have a Ross/Rachel from Friends relationship.
They complete each other, they will obviously disagree, but it’s like an old married couple.
Can’t live with each other, but also can’t live without each other
24 Feb 2013, 15:28 pm
Imagine the s ex if they ever do meet up.
24 Feb 2013, 15:31 pm
@nortierd-839:
when the indiscretions are so bad it ruins the outcome of a game, i do.
@Fern-840:
thanks Fern.
————–
anyway thats the last you’ll hear of it from me
i’m done with Super Rugby
CC, every test other than the AB’S (except when they play the Boks) and a few Bulls Super games on the quiet is all i’ll be commenting on.
24 Feb 2013, 15:32 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-843:
Pity, the SR is going to be epic
You should stick around
24 Feb 2013, 15:37 pm
@nortierd-841:
@Fern-842:
24 Feb 2013, 15:39 pm
Bakkies is a whiny sourp uss one trick pony,better he shuts his gob.
24 Feb 2013, 15:39 pm
@nortierd-844:
no, for everyone’s sake and mine, i shouldn’t.
the tmo trial law ammendments already look like a waste of time.
24 Feb 2013, 15:41 pm
@Fern-846:
i have never been rude to you, Fern..? ..
24 Feb 2013, 15:44 pm
Bakkies being rude or not does not matter.
You are tedious and I am just giving my opinion.
Cheers all,have a nice Sunday.
24 Feb 2013, 15:50 pm
@Fern-849:
Cheers
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-847:
Dis mos nie die moeite werd nie.
Dis amper soos cut your nose to spite your face
Kyk die games om die rugby te geniet en that’s it.
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