Sykes leads Kings in opener

Editor

Southern Kings are the first team to name their side ahead of the Super Rugby campaign, with Steven Sykes leading them against the Sharks.

The lock starts the Port Elizabeth clash alongside JC Astle, with Chris Cloete, Thembelani Bholi and Jacques Engelbrecht in the back-row.

Tom Botha, Martin Ferreira and Schalk Ferreira form the front-row while at half-back Ntando Kebe and Elgar Watts don shirts nine and ten.

Elsewhere in the line-up, Shane Gates and JP du Plessis will look to fire as the centres with Malcolm Jaer and Luzuko Vulindlu on the wings while full-back for Saturday's home fixture will be the experienced Jurgen Visser.

Kings: 15 Jurgen Visser, 14 Luzuko Vulindlu, 13 JP du Plessis, 12 Shane Gates, 11 Malcolm Jaer, 10 Elgar Watts, 9 Ntando Kebe, 8 Jacques Engelbrecht, 7 Thembelani Bholi, 6 Chris Cloete, 5 JC Astle, 4 Steven Sykes (captain), 3 Tom Botha, 2 Martin Ferreira, 1 Schalk Ferreira
Replacements: 16 Edgar Marutlulle, 17 Sti Sithole, 18 TBC, 19 Schalk Oelofse, 20 Cyril-John Velleman, 21 Leighton Eksteen, 22 Louis Fouche, 23 Charles Radebe

Date: Saturday, February 27
Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Kick-off: 15:00 local (13:00 GMT)
Referee: Jaco van Heerden (South Africa)
Assistant Referees: Rodney Bonaparte (South Africa), AJ Jacobs (South Africa)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)