The Isuzu Southern Kings endured a heart-breaking start to the 2020 leg of their Guinness PRO14 season as ill-discipline and bad luck saw them go down 61-13 against Edinburgh at Murrayfield on Saturday.
The men from Port Elizabeth were reduced to 14 men after only 13 minutes of play as Pieter Scholtz (prop) received a red card for making contact with an opponent’s neck while carrying the ball on attack.
Their replacement tighthead prop, De-Jay Terblanche, then suffered an injury shortly before the fourth quarter, which left them with no cover in the position, resulting in the team having to play with 13 men.
Things got worse in the 67th minute as lock Aston Fortuin received a yellow card for collapsing a maul, and this saw them being forced to play with 12 men for 10 minutes, paving the way for a nine-try romp by Edinburgh.
The first half was thrilling despite the Isuzu Southern Kings’ early red card, with both teams running hard at one another on attack and standing tall on defence, and it showed on the scoreboard with Edinburgh holding a slender 19-13 lead at the break.
With player numbers counting against the visitors in the second half, Edinburgh predictably ran riot on attack, and finished the match with nine tries to only two.
The Isuzu Southern Kings showed their intent from the outset and they were rewarded as early as the 11th minute with Erich Cronje (winger) touching down after gathering a stunning grubber.
They were dealt a massive blow two minutes later when Scholtz received his marching orders, and the hosts took advantage of this with Mike Willemse (hooker) – a former Isuzu Southern Kings captain – scoring their first try after breaking away from a dominant rolling maul.
This was cancelled out by the visitors’ flyhalf, JT Jackson, who slotted a penalty goal. But back-to-back tries by Edinburgh’s Duhan van der Merwe (winger) and Matt Scott (centre), from exciting attacking play, pushed them 19-8 ahead.
Jackson, however, had the final say on the stroke of halftime as he dived over in the corner from a sharp pass following a rolling maul to enter the break six points down.
Edinburgh came out firing when play resumed with James Johnstone (centre) scoring their bonus-point try as he dashed ahead with a clear tryline in sight.
The Isuzu Southern Kings’ hopes of hanging in despite the red card, however, were dented heavily soon after as Terblanche left the field injured, and they had to rely on 13 men to do the job with a bit more than 20 minutes left on the clock.
Edinburgh were awarded a penalty try soon after for the Isuzu Southern Kings’ collapsing a maul, and the side paid a high price with Fortuin being sent to the sin-bin, leaving them with 12 players.
This paved the way for a late charge by Edinburgh in which Eroni Sau (winger), Dave Cherry (replacement hooker), Charlie Shiel (replacement scrumhalf), and Mark Bennett (replacement centre) navigated their way to the tryline within 12 minutes, and this sealed a 61-13 victory for the team.
Scorers:
Edinburgh 61 (19) – Tries: Mike Willemse, Duhan van der Merwe, Matt Scott, James Johnstone, Penalty Try, Eroni Sau, Dave Cherry, Charlie Shiel, Mark Bennett. Conversions: Jaco van der Walt (7).
Isuzu Southern Kings 13 (13) – Tries: Erich Cronje, JT Jackson. Penalty goal: Jackson.
The Toyota Cheetahs and Isuzu Southern Kings got the New Year off to a stumbling start in the Guinness PRO14 on Saturday as they suffered disappointing defeats against Zebre in Parma and Edinburgh in Scotland respectively.
The Isuzu Southern Kings were reduced to 12 men at one stage against Edinburgh after receiving a red card in the opening minutes of the clash, but despite this, they managed to produce a competitive first half display. The numerical disadvantage, however, eventually cost them as they went down 61-13 at Murrayfield.
The Toyota Cheetahs, meanwhile, left their coach Hawies Fourie frustrated, as they looked rusty and out-of-sorts after the festive season break, slipping to a 41-13 defeat at the hands of Zebre.
In Edinburgh, the Isuzu Southern Kings scored first, but then disaster struck when prop Pieter Scholtz was red-carded after his elbow connected with the throat of a tackler while charging up-field on attack.
They were then reduced to 13 players in the second half when De-Jay Terblanche (prop) left the field due to a concussion, and later found themselves down to 12 men when Aston Fortuin (lock) received a yellow card for infringing in a maul close to the tryline.
Isuzu Southern Kings coach Robbie Kempson was pleased with his team’s effort, although he admitted the numerical disadvantage killed off any chance his side had.
“We did exceptionally well in the first 50 minutes with 14 men, but the wheels came off when we had uncontested scrums,” said Kempson. “Being down to 13 and then to 12 against one of the best sides in the competition, you are always going to be on the back-end of a hiding.”
The coach, however, was positive about the strides his side had taken after a month off.
“In the first half, in particular, when we were down to 14, we managed to keep Edinburgh very close,” he said. “We had one opportunity in the second half to score a try and unfortunately we didn’t take that. If we had taken that it would have brought things a little closer for the players.
“But we have come on in leaps and bounds from where we were.
“This game was an anomaly; you are never going to beat any side with 12 men on the park at any stage. The way this team has grown in the past six months has been impressive. The coaches we have brought in have made a difference and there is certainly a belief that we can take another step forward despite the unfortunate result.”
In Italy Fourie felt his side were below par, and he warned that they needed to find their form to remain in contention for a possible playoff spot.
The defeat against Zebre saw the Free Staters slip to fourth place in their conference – three points behind the Glasgow Warriors, although Fourie’s charges have two games in hand.
“We are very disappointed about the performance,” said Fourie. “It wasn’t good in any way and there isn’t one aspect of the game in which I feel we were on par.
“We made a lot of mistakes on attack, defended poorly and gave away a lot of momentum at key times. We lost a few lineouts as well, so it was a very frustrating evening for all of us.”
He added: “We will have to get ourselves right quickly in Bloemfontein as we have two important games against the Isuzu Southern Kings that we need to win. We will need to play some proper rugby again to be ready for the challenges that lie ahead.
“We will take it on the chin, but it isn’t a nice feeling. We are very disappointed in ourselves.”
Alan Straton
Latest posts by Alan Straton (see all)
- Why Digital Equity Is South Africa’s New Frontier for Women’s Empowerment – By Matebe Chisiza-Asukile and Natasha Mboyisa - 25 September 2026
- New Champions Rise at the 2026 Street Lines Skate Tournament - 23 September 2026
- When Manufacturers Have a ‘Beef’ Then Both Suffer - 23 September 2026
- How Much Are You Worth per Year to Your Bank? - 23 September 2026
- Better Business Processes. Stronger Workplace Skills. Smarter AI. Greater Business Productivity. - 23 September 2026
