Tough battle: The Kings didn't step back
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Two tries from 19-year-old Sergeal Petersen helped the Kings to a 22-10 win over the Force in their debut Super Rugby game at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
The result sees the Kings move to the top of the South African conference and third in the overall standings after the first full-weekend of the competition.
The Kings kept the Force scoreless in the first period as they showed great spirit after losing skipper Luke Watson through a blow to the throat after half an hour.
Fly-half Demetri Catrakilis kicked four penalties and played a key tactical game in the second half as the Kings sought to gain more territory.
Tries from wing Alfie Mafi and prop Pek Cowan saw the Force hold a 10-5 lead at half time after Kings wing Petersen had given the home side the early advantage with his team's first try in the competition.
Catrakilis put the hosts back in front with two penalties early in the second half.
Man-of-the-match Petersen struck for a second time as he scored in the corner on the hour mark to put the Kings further head at 16-10.
Two more Catrakilis penalties secured victory for the Kings as the partisan home crowd went wild.
Petersen opened the scoring when he gathered a chip down the blindside from scrum-half Shaun Venter and the 32 000-strong crowd erupted after his swallow dive in the right-hand corner.
The Force, though, controlled much of the first half and hit back with two tries through Cowan and Mafi as they threatened to take charge of the match.
Their driving play often had the Kings on the backfoot and the hosts were forced to make numerous tackles just to stay in touch.
The Force, however, suffered through poor goalkicking and missed the only three shots they had at the posts. In the second half, they forsook kicking at the posts and opted for driving mauls from the line-out when they received penalties.
In the second stanza, the Kings placed greater emphasis on retaining possession and Catrakilis led an improved tactical kicking display to give them greater opportunity of scoring points.
From a period of pressure on the Force line, Petersen finally received the ball on the right and held off two defenders to cross for his second try, making it 16-10.
This jolted the Force, while providing a major confidence boost for the Kings and they more than matched their experienced opponents to enjoy the better of the second period.
Their defence was outstanding and when Catrakilis kicked two penalties to put them 12 points in front, their self-belief seemed to grow, ultimately resulting in a memorable win.
The scorers:
For Kings:
Tries: Petersen 2
Pens: Catrakilis 4
For Western Force:
Tries: Cowan, Mafi
Yellow cards: McMeniman - 53rd min - high tackle
Kings: 15 SP Marais, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Ronnie Cooke, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Marcello Sampson, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Cornell du Preez, 7 Luke Watson (c), 6 Wimpie van der Walt, 5 Steven Sykes, 4 David Bulbring, 3 Kevin Buys, 2 Bandise Maku, 1 Schalk Ferreira.
Replacements: 16 Edgar Marutlulle, 17 Jaco Engels, 18 Daniel Adongo, 19 Jacques Engelbrecht, 20 Johan Herbst, 21 George Whitehead, 22 Hadleigh Parkes.
Western Force:15 Will Tupou, 14 Nick Cummins, 13 Winston Stanley, 12 Kyle Godwin, 11 Alfie Mafi, 10 Sam Christie, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 Matt Hodgson (c), 6 Angus Cottrell, 5 Hugh McMeniman, 4 Sam Wykes, 3 Tetera Faulkner, 2 Nathan Charles, 1 Pek Cowan.
Replacements:16 Heath Tessmann, 17 Kieran Longbottom, 18 Toby Lynn, 19 Richard Brown, 20 Chris Alcock, 21 Mick Snowden, 22 Junior Rasolea.
Referee: Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa)
Comments
kybone says...
KingShark- In that case i think there are a lot of Super Rugby fans that completely miss the point of SUPPORTING a team. Its not just about attaching yourself to a successful side, its about supporting YOUR team whether they win or lose. I've often refered to the franchise system as 'plastic' and this confirms it. In England you would never find Northampton fans suddenly becomming Leicester fans because they win more games and more trophies. They wouldn't even contemplate such a traitorous act. Can i just ask, how much delight do you honestly get when the team that you support wins a big game, when the only reason you support them in the first place is because they win big games? Each to their own, but i'll stick to supporting MY TEAM thanks. Even if they go down this year.
Posted 14:26 25th February 2013
amfas says...
Well done to the Kings. They certainly have some undiscovered talent. Thought a few of the Ref's decisions put pressure on the force in particular the disallowed pushover try which I thing was the turning point in the game. Still lots of big name teams to take to task and I'm sure the force will come back stronger!!! @georgesmith...your bashing of Australian sides is always good for a laugh from someone who seems mentally unarmed for mental combat.......
Posted 12:47 25th February 2013
tenpm says...
Engelbrecht was the MOTM for me. Every time he got the ball, he seemed to break at least two tackles.
I've noticed that the Force's lineout didn't work very well... Obviously the Kings got something worth their time and effort from the tapings of the Force's training ;-)
Posted 09:29 25th February 2013
KingShark says...
@Kybone - I know quite a few guys that got fed up with the Lions, and who wouldn't after 17 consecutive losses. These guys now support the Sharks and though the Sharks have not yet won the competition, they are always in with a shot. I can understand why scrumpoacher would change allegiance after several seasons of non-performance (not just these two games) - it is better to cry once per season than all season long.
Posted 06:36 25th February 2013
Trader2 says...
Ditto @ jmanngod
What did I see posted earlier, Force by 20 and no depth in Saffa Rugby. Depth in Australian rugby!!!! I would like to see that.
Posted 23:00 24th February 2013
kybone says...
What kind of crowd was at this game?
Posted 21:20 24th February 2013
Scrumpoacher says...
Kybone-thou art so holy! I supported the tah's before-as you so lovingly put it-'supporting a plastic franchise that popped out of the ground 5 years ago'' as WA had no side-So get over yourself. I am not one to change allegiance so quickly, unlike yourself who im sure will be cheering irish players in a couple of months as matter of convenience, not necessity. Also read my reply to you sir on the Spain story...You have been told!
Posted 20:30 24th February 2013
leebok says...
Shows how bad Aussie rugby is.
Posted 15:25 24th February 2013
ADShark says...
Wow. Well done Kings. Demetri Catrakilis is an awesome player. Surely come the end of the season him and Lambie will fight it out for the Springbok number 10 jersey.??
Posted 13:30 24th February 2013
Voice says...
Humble pie by the truck loads for me!! Great defence by the Kings and awesome attitude, might have un-earthed some future boks! The only hassle is that we will only know how strong the Kings are or how weak the Force actually are within the next few weeks!
Posted 13:25 24th February 2013
passtheball says...
I'm sure georgesmith would agree that the Force missed Sharpie big time!
Posted 13:16 24th February 2013
Ramage says...
Oh well seems it just goes to show the worst of the saffa teams is still better than the worst of the oz teams. The depth of playing ability in OZ is pretty thin and one can understand this when you read the comments of scrum poacher. Two games two losses and he has written off his team already. Pretty flakey support but that is the typical oz outlook. Kybone makes some very valid points in his reply. However to choose to swap the support to the Great Pretenders, the Waratahs, is the real farce. One surely that will end in misery. Scrum Poacher how much of a West Ozzie are you if you can drop supporting the Force and slip over to support an evil Eastern Team. Watch out once Barnett is returned next week his secret police will be knocking on your door over that traitorous comment made by you on this public forum.
Once again we are treated to Trinuts comments aimed at stirring with not one ounce of truth in his allegations, on and on. Nothing phases this jester who bounces from one allegation to another without even any shame. He is fully aware of the way he pays no attention to the truth. Still we are used to his tiring outbursts on this forum as he peddles his misinformation without even blushing and then twists his own words when the story is about his own countrymen or their own somewhat dodgy claim.
Posted 11:09 24th February 2013
kybone says...
Scrumpoacher- If thats your attitude then i think the Force can do without your flimsy support! We all get pissed off when our team loses, but to openly declare that you're now going to support another team just shows that you never really supported the Force in the first place. My team is currently bottom of the Championship league in England, but i wouldn't dream of supporting anyone else as they are our rivals and, for better or worse, the Doncaster Knights are my team. Still, i suppose thats the difference between supporting a club thats been around for 100 years or more, and supporting a plastic franchise that popped up out of the ground about 5 years or so ago.
Posted 09:34 24th February 2013
flyman says...
@PREEST - mate, I concur! Had the Force winning this game by a long way, humble pie filled with my words for brekkie this morning :o)
Posted 08:14 24th February 2013
PREEST says...
I guess I can eat my words...I didn't think the Kings would get one win this season.
Posted 07:23 24th February 2013
nefari says...
I had kings by 2 (with a last minute penalty) but in the end after shedding the nerves they dominated and play exciting rugby. Engelbrecht was awesome.
Posted 07:07 24th February 2013
isthatrightref says...
Decent of the schedulers to give them the worst team in the comp first up, let's see how they go against decent opp'n before hyping them up too much...
Posted 01:49 24th February 2013
Uglea says...
Not sure if the video taped training run had any influence or if it was just one of things. Well done kings. Not sure what can happen to the force but it's getting hard to remain positive when things like this occur
Posted 00:39 24th February 2013
Trinats2 says...
Saffas getting carried away here. The Kings at home beat the Force, only just better than the last placed every year lions. Kings couldn't have had it better for their first game (nothing dodgy with the fixtures!) imagine they had to play the Sharks in Durban to kick off their campaign.
A good win for them, but "stormer beware.. " really !
jmanngod:
NZ poach the better players first from Fiji, Tonga and Samoa !!! oh and Aussies too (2 in your current ABs !)
NZ is a pacific island !!! And you wonder why people take the p out of you !
Posted 23:57 23rd February 2013
Melkiwi says...
It's obvious Australia should not have a 5th super team. Embarrassing for the force.
Posted 22:56 23rd February 2013