Cape Town – Kings coach Matt Sexton says
it’s too early in the Super Rugby competition to criticise the style of play
employed by the South African teams.
While the New Zealand and Australian teams are producing an attractive brand of
running rugby, the South African sides received criticism in the first few weeks
for the lack of imagination in their play.
After two games, the Chiefs (10) and Blues (9) top the try-scoring list, with
Australia’s also Force surprising with seven tries. The Bulls (5) have scored
the most tries by a South African team.
The Sharks and the Stormers played too a dull 12-6 result without any tries in
Durban last weekend, but Sexton believes it’s too early for South African fans
to get negative.
“As the teams play more matches, they will adapt their playing style
depending on who they face,” he told Die Burger’s website.
“Nobody can afford to be one dimensional in their approach. You must
definitely have a plan A, B and C.
“The weather conditions had an influence there (Durban) which led to more
kicking. It was almost like a Test.”
Sexton does not expect the Stormers and the Sharks to follow that approach for
the whole season.
In fact, he expects the Sharks to run more against them when the two sides
clash in Port Elizabeth on Saturday night.
“We have to protect the ball more and not give it away so easily,”
said Sexton. The Kings beat the Force 22-10 in their first game on February 23.
Kick-off at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium is at 19:10 on Saturday.
Teams:
Kings:
15 SP Marais, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Ronnie Cooke, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Marcello Sampson, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Jacques Engelbrecht, 7 Wimpie van der Walt, 6 Cornell du Preez, 5 Steven Sykes 4 Darron Nell (captain), 3 Kevin Buys , 2 Bandise Maku, 1 Schalk Ferreira
Substitutes: 16 Edgar Marutlulle, 17 Jaco Engels, 18 David Bulbring, 19 Luke Watson, 20 Nicolas Vergallo, 21 George Whitehead, 22 Hadleigh Parkes
Sharks:
15. Louis Ludik, 14. JP Pietersen, 13. Paul Jordaan, 12. Francois Steyn (captain), 11. Lwazi Mvovo, 10. Patrick Lambie, 9. Cobus Reinach, 8. Ryan Kankowski, 7. Jean Deysel, 6. Marcell Coetzee, 5. Franco van der Merwe, 4. Anton Bresler, 3. Jannie du Plessis, 2. Craig Burden, 1. Tendai Mtawarira
Substitutes: 16. Kyle Cooper, 17. Wiehahn Herbst, 18. Pieter-Steph du Toit, 19. Jacques Botes, 20. Charl McLeod, 21. Meyer Bosman, 22. Odwa Ndungane
Article source: http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/Super15/Sexton-defends-boring-SA-play-20130306
