Southern Kings happier with performance, despite loss against Cheetahs

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Southern Kings happier with performance, despite loss against Cheetahs

The Southern Kings may have lost against an on-song Cheetahs team in Bloemfontein, but have said that they are much happier with their performance in the game that saw them lose 12 points to the Cheetahs 26 (15 – 9 at halftime).

Director of Rugby, Alan Solomons said the team had showed great improvement on their poor performance the week before against the Vodacom Bulls, attributed to travel fatigue following the team’s first Australasian tour.

“Not to take anything away from the Bulls, who probably put on their best performance to date against the Kings last week, but the players definitely did not play like they usually did in that game,” he said.

Solomons said despite the loss against the Cheetahs, the Kings had put on a very positive performance and had, to some extent, set the record straight.

“There is no comparison between this game and the game we played last week (against the Bulls), we held onto the ball, had much better possession and territory and were unfortunate to come away with the result that we did,” he said.

Solomons said there had been a few lapses in concentration, which had resulted in two tries being scored in the first half, that he felt could have been avoided.

“The first try came from deep within the Cheetah’s territory, while the second was due to a defensive lapse,” he said.

“We also have to work on converting territory and possession into points; we need to be more composed in the opposition’s 22,” said Solomons.

Solomons said none of the Kings players had signs of significant injury, aside from the usual bumps and bruises, although a more comprehensive evaluation would be done once the team had returned to Nelson Mandela Bay.