Or should that read “Kings go down big hole” as the new South African Super Rugby franchise went down to Griquas at their home stadium in Port Elizabeth.
The Vodacom Cup side won 30-27, after the Kings led 20-16 at the break.
Trailing 17-3 in the first half, the men from Kimberley fought back, eventually sneaking a late win via a try by reserve hooker Simon Westraadt.
The loss for the Kings comes after pre-season victories over NMMU (28-12), an SWD Franchise XV (29-13), and a 41-31 loss to the Lions last weekend.
They will play in the Super15 at the expense of the Lions, with their first game at home to Australia’s Force on February 23. It seems they are destined for a truly torrid time in what has been described by many as the toughest tournament in world rugby.
Scorers:
Kings:
Tries: Luke Watson, Sergeal Peterson, penalty try
Conversions: Demetri Catrakilis (3)
Penalties: Catrakilis (2)
Griquas:
Tries: Jaco Nepgen, Burton Francis, Simon Westraadt
Conversions: Francis (3)
Penalties: Francis (3)
Teams:
Kings: 15 SP Marais, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Ronnie Cooke, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Siyanda Grey, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Luke Watson (captain), 7 Wimpie van der Walt, 6 Cornel du Preez , 5 Steve Sykes, 4 David Bulbring, 3 Kevin Buys, 2 Bandise Maku, 1 Schalk Ferreira.
Bench: Edgar Marutlulle, BG Uys, Jaco Engels, Daniel Adongo, Devin Oosthuizen, Nicolas Vergallo, George Whitehead, Hadleigh Parkes, Marcello Sampson, Johan Herbst.
Griquas: 15 Richard Lawson, 14 Luzuko Vulindlu, 13 Jean Stemmet, 12 PJ Vermeulen, 11 Rocco Jansen, 10 Burton Francis, 9 Enrico Acker, 8 Leon Karemaker, 7 Justin Downey, 6 Deon Carney, 5 Jaco Nepgen, 4 Edwin Hewitt, 3 Brummer Badenhorst, 2 Matt Dobson, 1 Steph Roberts.
Bench: 16 Simon Westraadt, 17 Eugene Butterworth, 18 Janro van Niekerk, 19 Joubert Horn, 20 Marnus Schoeman, 21 Marnus Hugo, 22 Jacques Coetzee, 23 Walter Venter
