A much-improved performance from the Southern Kings was not enough to save them from a 34-18 defeat to Aukland's Blues today at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
Kings fly-half Elgar Watts opened the scoring with a penalty. The Blues hit back with a try through skipper James Parsons, but Ihaia West missed the conversion.
A much-improved performance from the Southern Kings was not enough to save them from a 34-18 defeat to Aukland's Blues today at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
Kings fly-half Elgar Watts opened the scoring with a penalty. The Blues hit back with a try through skipper James Parsons, but Ihaia West missed the conversion.
The Kings regained the lead through scrum-half James Hall, who crashed home under the posts 15 minutes in. Watts made no mistake in converting.
However, 10 minutes later, Melani Nanai charged through the Kings defence to dot down under the posts. This time, the conversion was successful – and the Blues were back in front.
Five minutes later, Nanai burst through again to add another try to his tally, with West converting once more. Things were looking ominous for the Kings at half-time, as they went in 19-10 down.
Four minutes into the second half, the Blues stretched their lead further through a penalty from Ihaia West. However, hooker Edgar Marutlulle put the Kings within touching distance 10 minutes later with a try in the corner. This time, Watts was unable to convert.
Jurgen Visser nailed a penalty from 50 metres out to narrow the gap down to four points with 20 minutes left on the clock. However, substitute Billy Guyton widened it with a try nine minutes later. West's conversion gave the Blues what proved an unassailable 29-18 lead.
Tevita Li put the icing on the cake after the hooter, running the Kings ragged to score an unconverted try in the corner – the Blues' fifth of the game.
The Kings will take plenty of positives from the game, which was a far cry from last weekend's 73-27 loss to the Jaguares. They will look to bounce back in Bloemfontein when they take on the Cheetahs next Saturday.
Tries:
Kings: Jeremy Hall; Edgar Marutlulle
Blues: James Parsons; Melani Nanai (2); Billy Guyton; Tevita Li
Conversions:
Kings: Elgar Watts
Blues: Ihaia West (3)
Penalties:
Kings: Elgar Watts; Jurgen Visser
