PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa, May 11 (Reuters) - The Southern Kings (South Africa) beat the Highlanders (New Zealand) 34-27 (halftime 20-17) in a Super Rugby match on Saturday.
Scores:
Southern Kings - Tries: Luke Watson (2), Cornell du Preez, Shaun Venter; Conversions: Demetri Catrakilis (4); Penalties: Catrakilis (2)
Highlanders - Tries: Colin Slade (2), Brad Thorn, Hosea Gear; Conversions: Slade (2); Penalty: Slade (Compiled by Nick Said in Cape Town, editing by Tony Jimenez)
PORT ELIZABETH (Reuters) - South Africa's Southern Kings bounced back from a humiliating home defeat last weekend to secure a 34-27 victory over the Highlanders in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
It was their first ever win over a New Zealand side a week after they were thrashed 72-10 at home by the Waratahs.
That dismal performance lacked passion and brutally exposed their inexperience in their maiden year of Super Rugby.
But Saturday's victory - set up by outstanding loose-forward play from Luke Watson, Wimpie van der Walt and Cornell du Preez - was a complete turnaround. They were more physical, better organised and showed greater precision with their set-pieces.
Two tries from Watson and further scores by Du Preez and Shaun Venter gave the hosts a try-scoring bonus point, while the Highlanders came away with two points after they also ran in four tries via Colin Slade (two), Brad Thorn and Hosea Gear.
"We got absolutely pumped last week but it was still almost a full house tonight so a lot of credit must go to the crowd," said Kings captain Watson.
"We showed a lot of character and courage. We haven't got much to lose. We had to take some risks and it paid off,"
After taking a 6-3 lead through the boot of flyhalf Demetri Catrakilis, the Kings got the opening try after Watson burrowed over.
GREAT TRY
The Highlanders hit back with a great individual try of their own, flyhalf Slade chipped the ball in behind the Kings defence and collected it himself before diving over under the posts.
The momentum was with the visitors at that point and when Thorn barged over to score the Highlanders had the lead.
But they could not hold it into the break, with Watson scoring his second try from a driving maul to give the Kings a 20-17 advantage at halftime.
The home side took control of the game in the first 15 minutes of the second period with two more tries.
Good footwork from Catrakilis allowed Du Preez to go over in the corner, with Tamati Ellison sin-binned for repeated infringements in the lead-up to the try.
The bonus-point was won after a great piece of individual skill from Kings hooker Bandise Maku, who broke free into the Highlanders 22 and flicked the ball back as he was tackled into the path of Venter.
That score put the home side 17 points ahead, but there were some late jitters when Slade scored his second try and Hosea Gear got a bonus-point for the visitors to close the gap to seven.
The Highlanders had all the possession for the final five minutes of the game, but could not complete the comeback.
"We played into their strengths by giving them penalties. It is pretty frustrating but we have seven days to regroup before we play the Bulls," Highlanders captain Andrew Hore said.
PORT ELIZABETH, March 15 (Reuters) - The Waikato Chiefs (New Zealand) beat the Southern Kings (South Africa) 35-24 (halftime 18-13) in their Super Rugby match in Port Elizabeth on Friday.
Scorers:
Kings - Tries: Sergeal Petersen, Jacques Engelbrecht. Conversions: Demetri Catrakilis. Penalties: Catrakilis (4).
Chiefs - Tries: Lelia Masaga (3), Sam Cane. Conversions: Gareth Anscombe (3). Penalties: Anscombe (3). (Compiled by Nick Said in Cape Town, Editing by John Mehaffey)
PORT ELIZABETH (Reuters) - South Africa's Southern Kings made a stunning Super Rugby debut with a 22-10 victory over Australia's Western Force at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.
Winger Sergeal Petersen, still a schoolboy two months ago, scored a brace of tries while the boot of flyhalf Demitri Catrakilis added four penalties.
The Port Elizabeth-based side have replaced the Lions in this year's Super Rugby competition but were expected to struggle with an inexperienced squad under New Zealand-born coach Matt Sexton.
However, what they lacked in star quality they made up for with a high work-rate and structured defence.
"We knew it was our crucial to get a win today to get the public behind us," Kings centre Andries Strauss said. "We must keep our feet on the ground, it is only our first step into this competition.
"There is still big pressure on us but I hope we can take the momentum from this win further into the competition."
Petersen scored his side's first points in the competition when he showed great anticipation to run in a try. Force winger Alfie Mafi dithered over collecting a charged-down grubber and Petersen nipped the ball from his grasp and ran in unopposed.
The score was against the run of play and the Perth-based side began to flex their muscles. They took the ball through the phases from a scrum in the Kings' 22 and Pek Cowan scored with a pick-and-go from the base of the ruck.
Six minutes later, the Australians were in again and once more it came from patient buildup play. Mafi completed the try in the corner as they spread the ball wide.
All three tries went unconverted and the Force led 10-5 at the break.
The home side had suffered a blow in the first half when captain Luke Watson was forced off just past the half-hour mark with a throat injury and did not return.
But, if they were second best in the first half, the Kings put in a gutsy display after halftime to score 14 unanswered points.
"We spoke at halftime about keeping the ball better and putting pressure on the Force and we did that," Strauss said.
Catrakilis added two penalties to give his side the lead, before Hugh McMeniman received a yellow card for a high tackle on Ronnie Cooke.
With the Force a man down, the lead was extended when Petersen scored his second try on the hour mark. Kings scrumhalf Shaun Venter coughed up the ball over the goalline, but the home side won it back following a Force knock-on and spread the ball wide.
Petersen kept Will Tupou at bay with an excellent hand-off before darting in at the corner.
"It is an incredible start to my Super Rugby career. It gives me great passion and heart to know that I am coming from this region. We are such a unit, playing in this team is a dream," Petersen said.
The Force were penalised at the scrum twice in quick succession, with Catrakilis slotting both kicks to take the score to 22-10 and out of sight of their visitors.
