A somewhat changed Southern Kings team will take to the field against the DHL Stormers under the leadership of Steven Sykes on Friday evening, says caretaker coach, Robbie Kempson.
Announcing the team at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Kempson said Sykes would take the role of captain this week, following an injury to Darron Nell’s elbow that has resulted in him being excluded from selection.
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“Brendon Olivier comes up to replace BG Uys, who won’t be playing as he is getting married, while Dane van der Westhuysen has dislocated his elbow, so Albé (de Swardt) comes back in after recovering from his rib injury,” he said.
Kempson said it was not clear how serious Van Der Westhuysen’s injury was, or how long he would be out for, as they were still waiting for feedback from the specialist.
Kempson said Stephan Zaayman would come up from the bench to take Nell’s place at flank.
“Carlos (Spencer) has decided to go with a different variation on the back line as he wants to see what he has out there,” he said.
Kempson said as such a number of rotations had come into effect, with Sonwabo Majola in at scrumhalf in place of Jaco Grobler, Eben Barnard came up in place of Michael Killian on wing, and Dwayne Jenner replaced Ronnie Cooke at outside centre.
Kempson said Sergeal Petersen, who had taken a slight knock to the knee during the Lions game, was ready and would remain in the starting 15 at wing, with Shakes Soyizwapi once again taking up position at fullback.
Kempson said the Kings would once again be playing with an extended team of 26 players, to allow more players to get game time, including youngsters such as Kevin Kaba and Tyler Paul.
Kempson said the game against the Stormers would prove challenging, what with the Kings playing their third big match in a row and with the loss of some players to injury.
“I think the Stormers are a different kettle of fish completely.
“They’re a thoroughly professional outfit and they have a strength and depth that most provinces don’t have, so I think that, for us, it is going to be a very competitive game,” he said.
“The team is looking to go out and give them a very good go and a run for their money, we’re not here to just make up the numbers,” he said.
Kickoff for the clash at the Nelson Mandela Stadium is at 19:00 and the match will not be televised.
Teams:
Southern Kings: 15 Siviwe Soyizwapi, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Dwayne Jenner, 12 Shane Gates, 11 Eben Barnard, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Sonwabo Majola, 8 Devon Oosthuizen, 7 Stephan Zaayman, 6 Paul Schoeman, 5 Rynier Bernardo, 4 Steven Sykes (Captain), 3 Charl du Plessis, 2 Albé de Swardt, 1 Brendon Olivier
Replacements: 16 JC Oberholzer, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Pieter Stemmet, 19 Stephan Greeff, 20 Thembelani Bholi, 21 Kevin Kaba, 22 Tyler Paul, 23 Jaco Grobler, 24 Ronnie Cooke, 25 Michael Killian, 26 Brian Skosana.
Stormers: 15 Jaco Taute, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Michael van der Spuy, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Scott van Breda, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Schalk Burger (Captain), 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Manuel Carizza, 4 Rynhardt Elstadt, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Pat Cilliers, 19 Michael Rhodes, 20 Jean Kleyn, 21 Nizaam Carr, 22 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 23 Louis Schreuder, 24 Gary van Aswegen, 25 Pat Howard, 26 Devon Williams, 27 Ryno Eksteen.