Preview: Kings v Dragons

The Kings have made minimal changes to their starting XV that will take on the Dragons in their PRO14 match at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

Back on home soil after a difficult three-match tour of Europe, head coach Deon Davids decided to keep faith with the bulk of the players who started against Leinster last weekend. There is a single change in the backline where Masixole Banda returns in place of Yaw Penxe whilst the forward pack sees Andisa Ntsila returned to his favoured position at number six from the number eight spot he occupied against Leinster. Ruaan Lerm returns to the run-on XV in the number eight position vacated by Ntsila.

There was greater selection activity on the bench where the experienced Kurt Coleman (fly-half) and Dries Van Schalkwyk (loose forward) return to the matchday 23 at the expense of Eital Bredenkamp and Barend Janse Van Rensburg. Scrum-half Godlen Masimla also comes in to replace Juan-Philip Smith.

“Every team in an international competition like this presents a tough challenge and the Dragons are no different but I expect a strong reaction from my team to last week’s blowout against Leinster," said Davids.

"Everyone is determined to make up for what was a bad day at the office. We’ve played really well at times this season and it’s now time we put in an 80-minute performance at that level. If we execute properly and cut down on some basic errors then we’ll be in with a shout. Errors at this level are severely punished."

Meanwhile, the Dragons have made six personnel changes and one positional change for the PRO14 match.

Head coach Bernard Jackman has moved versatile back Zane Kirchner to the full-back position from centre as he joins Ashton Hewitt, who has recovered from a foot injury, and Jared Rosser in the back three. The centre partnership sees ex-Southern Kings player Jarryd Sage link up with Jack Dixon, and as Dorian Jones retains his position at fly-half South African scrum-half Sarel Pretorius is named. 

Whilst there are no changes to the front or second-row, two changes have been made to the back-row as flankers Harri Keddie and Ollie Griffiths join skipper Lewis Evans.

Ahead of the match 22-year-old centre Sage commented: “It will be a nice game for me and playing against an old team always gives you a bit of extra motivation to prove yourself.

"I didn't play much at the Kings so want to go back there and almost show them what they lost. It's a very exciting game for me and it will be good to play in front of my family."

He continued: "It's a different experience and environment for us but I don't think that my advice will really be needed, we've just got to go out there and work on the performance from last week.

"The Kings are going to target this game because they haven't won yet. It will be a tough fight but we've just got to do what is needed for the win."

There are four changes to the bench as Max Williams, James Benjamin, Dan Babos and Rio Dyer join Ellis Shipp, Gerard Ellis, Lloyd Fairbrother and Connor Edwards.

The teams:

Kings: 15 Masixole Banda, 14 Michael Makase, 13 Berton Klaasen, 12 Luzuko Vulindlu, 11 Anthonie Volmink, 10 Martin Du Toit, 9 Rowan Gouws, 8 Ruaan Lerm, 7 Martinus Burger, 6 Andisa Ntsila, 5 Bobby De Wee, 4 Stephan Greeff, 3 Pieter Scholtz, 2 Michael Willemse (c), 1 Schalk Ferreira
Replacements: 16 Stephan Coetzee, 17 Johan Smith, 18 Luvuyo Pupuma, 19 Lindokuhle Welemu, 20 Andries van Schalkwyk, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 Kurt Coleman, 23 Jacques Nel

Dragons: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Ashton Hewitt, 13 Jarryd Sage, 12 Jack Dixon, 11 Jared Rosser, 10 Dorian Jones, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Lewis Evans (c), 7 Ollie Griffiths, 6 Harri Keddie, 5 Rynard Landman, 4 Joe Davies, 3 Leon Brown, 2 Liam Belcher, 1 Sam Hobbs
Replacements: 16 Ellis Shipp, 17 Gerard Ellis, 18 Lloyd Fairbrother, 19 Max Williams, 20 James Benjamin, 21 Dan Babos, 22 Connor Edwards, 23 Rio Dyer

Date: Friday, March 2
Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium
Kick-off: 19:35 local (17:35 GMT)
Referee: Quinton Immelman (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Cwengile Jadezweni (South Africa), Rodney Boneparte (South Africa)
Television match official: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)