Along with the Pumas, the EP Kings are the second newly added team this year, coming from the First Division tournament. However, the Kings will be no strangers to the teams they will meet because of their stint in Super Rugby in 2013.
The Kings failed to deliver in the Super Rugby and were promptly replaced by the Lions this season. However, the Currie Cup is a new tournament and with newly appointed coach, former All Black flyhalf, Carlos Spencer heading up the team, the Kings come into the competition with a fair amount of confidence.
2014 EP Kings Currie Cup Preview
Lead once again by controversial rugby star Luke Watson, the Kings are have made some important signings to boost their team, even if they are just for the year. CJ van der Linde will be present until the end of 2014 while Edgar Marutulle will be signed until the end of 2015.
The Kings have decided they needed reinforcement with their lock options and have re-signed David Bulbring from the Blue Bulls. An important trio signing has also been made, just for the 2014 Currie Cup season, which sees Tom Botha from Montpellier, Australian lock Steve Cummins and South African/Italian international Tobie Botes from Treviso all join the Eastern Province side. Lastly, Kevin Luiters, from the Cheetahs, has also signed a new contract with the Kings.
Carlos Spencer will be relying heavily on Captain Watson, Tim Whitehead, Ronnie Cooke and David Bulbring to create stability in a team that contains more players starting their Currie Cup campaign compared to players familiar with this tournament. To help out the youngsters that would be trusted with the kicking duties as well as the team in general, the Kings have signed a new kicking coach in Henning van der Merwe.
Spencer is also hoping to pass on some of his own ‘out there’ playing style to the Kings but has said that structured rugby is an invaluable factor if the team wants to cement themselves not only in the Currie Cup but also create a solid game plan they can duplicate in the 2016 Super Rugby season.
EP Kings Team:
Tom Botha, Charl du Plessis, Lizo Gqoboka, Simon Kerrod, Charles Marais, Brenden Olivier, BG Uys, CJ van der Linde, Albe de Swardt, Martin Ferreira, Edgar Marutlulle, Dane van der Westhuyzen, Michael van Vuuren, David Bulbring, Steve Cummins, Cameron Lindsay, Shaun McDonald, Darron Nell, Steven Sykes, Tim Agaba, Thembelani Bholi, Aidon Davis, Devin Oosthuizen, Paul Schoeman, Luke Watson (c), Stefan Willemse, Enrico Acker, Tobie Botes, Jaco Grobler, Kevin Luiters, Ntabeni Dukisa, Gary van Aswegen, George Whitehead, Ronnie Cooke, Shane Gates, Dwayne Jenner, Marlou van Niekerk, Tim Whitehead, Eben Barnard, Siyanda Grey, Paul Perez, Sergeal Petersen, Hansie Graaff, Shakes Soyizwapi, Scott van Breda
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