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Kings players face mass axing as coach runs out of patience

Howard Mnisi, Southern Kings

Isuzu Southern Kings coach Robbi Kempson is preparing to shake up his selection for Sunday’s PRO14 Rugby clash with Irish province Connacht in Port Elizabeth as he runs out of patience with players he feels keep making the same mistakes.

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“You can’t keep on doing the same thing and expecting different results, so I will be mixing up the team substantially for the Connacht game,” says Kempson.

“I have no doubt that it is now time to be giving other players an opportunity to see what they can do. These guys, the guys who have played so far, have had theirs. What is that old saying about insanity? The first sign of madness is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.”

The Kings appeared to be on an upward trajectory with their performances when they broke their overseas duck by beating the Ospreys in Swansea in November, but after a good performance against the Toyota Cheetahs in their home derby, a game they were unlucky to lose, they have been well beaten in three successive matches.

There was a slight improvement against Scarlets in Wales last weekend, but the same mistakes cropped up later in the game and what had been shaping up as a good contest ended up being an easy win for the hosts. Before that they lost the away derby against the Cheetahs heavily and were thrashed by Munster.
Kempson said the last two games, both played overseas, had made the penny drop with regards to the direction the coaches should be taking the team.

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“The guys have all been given enough opportunity to stake a claim for starting berths. In the Munster game definitely and in the back end of the Scarlets game they gave us an idea of where we need to go forward with our game,” said the former Springbok prop.

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“There have been increments of positives, particularly in the Scarlets game, but there were also too many obvious negatives. Against the Scarlets we were in the game until the 62nd minute, but then we made mistakes that turned the tide against us. The back end of the game is the most important part to fix.

“There is an element of conditioning but we always seem to be in the game until we need to make changes in certain positions. That is when it becomes slightly difficult. We have spoken about it. Against the Cheetahs we tried to play experienced guys off the bench but that didn’t work either. So other players will get opportunities and hopefully they take them.”

For once the Kings don’t appear to have a slew of injuries to deal with ahead of the Connacht game. No8 Elrigh Louw, who is unlikely to be one of the players Kempson is unhappy with as he has shown a lot of promise, sustained what the coach described as a vicious cut to the eye last time out but he is expected to be available.

Courtney Winnaar, who played fullback against the Scarlets and kicked a long-range first-half penalty, has been ruled out with a bad ankle sprain. He is due to undergo a scan. The Kings have a ready-made replacement for him in Masixole Banda, who is back in the selection mix after missing out the last few games due to personal reasons.

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Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
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