Learning the art of sports journalism, while studying at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, I have been awarded the opportunity to report on a number of Southern Kings matches and news. Here are a collection of articles, published by Grocott’s Mail, on the Southern Kings, the Guinness Pro14 and the different match reports, news articles and opinion pieces about the Kings that I have written…
All tied up between Kings and Dragons
Round 19 of the Guinness Pro14 kicked off in the Nelson Mandela University Madibaz’s Stadium on Sunday 7 April, when the Isuzu Southern Kings hosted the Dragons from Wales in Port Elizabeth. Despite the massive traffic delays caused by the Ironman competition happening around the stadium at the same time, the match kicked off in perfect conditions. READ MORE…
“Our Achilles heels got back to us in the end” – Davids
In their first match back on South African soil in 2019, the Isuzu Southern Kings suffered a heartbreaking defeat to the Toyota Cheetahs, after the visitors managed to score in the 85th minute of the match. The 17-24 defeat was felt even more deeply by Kings supporters, as their charges had fought back well in the second half to remain level at the end of 80 minutes. READ MORE…
Cheetahs break Kings’ hearts with 85th minute try
The Guinness Pro14 returned to South African shores on Friday 18 January, when the Isuzu Southern Kings hosted the Toyota Cheetahs in a massive derby clash. Both sides were looking for a much-needed victory, with both sides languishing in the bottom sections of their respective logs. READ MORE…
Kings go down firing
The final round of the Pr14 regular season came to Port Elizabeth on Saturday 28 April when the Southern Kings took on the Cheetahs in an SA derby. The Cheetahs looked to come home with another victory over the Eastern Cape hosts, as the Kings have never managed to defeat their Free State counterparts in all competitions. READ MORE…
Kings pipped in one-point thriller
Saturday 24 March saw the Southern Kings host Benetton Treviso in round 18 of the Pro14 at Nelson Mandela Bay stadium. The Kings were looking for their second win of their debut Pro14 season against their historically weaker Italian opponents. READ MORE…
Kings making progress, but not quite there yet
The first match of the Guinness Pro14 to take place on South African soil kicked off on Saturday 16 September 2017, when the Southern Kings went down to Leinster in Port Elizabeth by 10-31. In a cold and wet Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, the Irish side looked at home after a strong second half performance. READ MORE…
Second half Leinster dispatch Kings
History was made on Saturday 16 September 2017, when the Southern Kings played host to Irish club, Leinster, in the first ever Guinness Pro14 match to be played on South African soil. The Kings came into the match after previously losing their first two Pro14 matches 57-10 and 32-10 against the defending champions, Scarlets, and Connacht respectively. READ MORE…
Southern Kings officially part of Pro14
The long awaited announcement of two South African teams’ involvement in the Guinness Pro12 was released on Tuesday 1 August by Celtic rugby. The Southern Kings and the Free State Cheetahs, who were recently axed from Super Rugby, will join teams from Wales, Scotland Ireland and Italy in a newly reformatted and renamed Guinness Pro14 that will commence in September 2017. READ MORE…
Southern Kings and the Pro12?
With the Southern Kings recently axed from Super Rugby, along with their Bloemfontein counter-parts, the Cheetahs, many have speculated what the future holds for these South African franchises. Over the weeks since the decision to axe the Kings and Cheetahs was made, the most prominent rumours have been that the Kings and Cheetahs will take part in the European Pro12 competition. READ MORE…
14-man Lions sink Kings
The Southern Kings took part in a Sunday Super Rugby match on South African soil for the first time in over ten years when they took on the Lions at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg. The Sunday afternoon fixture kicked off at 14:30 in cool autumn conditions. READ MORE…
SA Rugby needs Southern Kings
In a recent SANZAAR conference, it was decided that South Africa will lose two Super Rugby franchises, while Australia will also forego one of their franchises in order for the competition to revert to a 15-team format. READ MORE…
Kings coach happy with complete package
On Saturday 29 April, the Southern Kings romped home to an emphatic 44-3 victory over the Melbourne Rebels in what was an exiting and clinical performance from the home side. This was the Kings’ first consecutive victory in the Super Rugby competition. READ MORE…
Kings thump woeful Rebels
On Saturday 29 April, the Southern Kings hosted the Melbourne Rebels as part of the 2017 Super Rugby Season. The Kings, fresh off their first ever victory over the Waratahs in Sydney the previous week, were looking to make their home ground advantage count to pick up their second consecutive win against Australian opposition in this year’s competition. READ MORE…
EP Kings struggle in front of 10 000 fans
South Africa’s newest provincial rugby competition, the SuperSport Rugby Challenge, opened in spectacular fashion this weekend at Wolfson Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Sunday afternoon as part of a new initiative of playing matches on Sunday at community venues as part of a Rugby Festival. READ MORE…
Stephen Kisbey-Green Photography 