Friendships and creating memories have been the highlight of Ruaan Lerm’s career spanning three years and 49 matches so far at the Isuzu Southern Kings. The 27-year-old Isuzu Southern Kings No8 is on the verge of playing in his 50th match for the Port Elizabeth-based side, having joined the team in their 2017 Super Rugby season.
While wary of the tough two Guinness PRO14 matches that await in Europe, Isuzu Southern Kings interim head coach, Robbi Kempson, is also excited about the new blood emerging from the Port Elizabeth-based side.
The Isuzu Southern Kings will travel with a 27-man squad on Monday evening for a Guinness PRO14 two-week tour. The side will first square up against Irish side, Munster Rugby, in Cork on February 14.
Isuzu Southern Kings coach Robbi Kempson returned to Port Elizabeth from Bloemfontein at the weekend disappointed that his men had been so comprehensively outplayed by the Toyota Cheetahs but definitely not unbowed or deflated. The Kings play Munster on Valentine’s Day and Scarlets on 23 February before returning to South Africa for an extended run of home games.
The Toyota Cheetahs claimed their second victory in the Guinness PRO14 South African derby with a 45-0 defeat of the Isuzu Southern Kings in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
Isuzu Southern Kings’ former Junior Springbok, Elrigh Louw, is eager to face his former team, the Toyota Cheetahs, when the two sides square up for their second Guinness PRO14 derby in Bloemfontein on Saturday, February 1.
If there is anybody who knows what it takes to bring the goods at the top level of professional rugby, it is Isuzu Southern Kings assistant coach, Braam van Straaten. The former Springbok flyhalf and ex-Wallabies kicking coach highlighted that the passion he has seen in the Isuzu Southern Kings troops is set to see them turn the corner in the Guinness PRO14.
Isuzu Southern Kings’ coach Robbi Kempson was a disappointed man following a last-minute 30-31 Guinness PRO14 defeat to South African rivals, the Toyota Cheetahs on Saturday. The coach said individual mistakes had cost the team in the end.
Isuzu Southern Kings’ elusive fullback, Masixole Banda, will earn his 50th cap for the franchise when the side takes on the Toyota Cheetahs in a Guinness PRO14 Round 8 clash at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday, January 25.
The last time the Isuzu Southern Kings took on the Toyota Cheetahs hooker, Jacques du Toit’s allegiance was to the Free State-based side, but things have changed over the past few months.
The path of any top athlete is often a long and arduous one as Isuzu Southern Kings centre Howard Mnisi can attest. The South African, who joined Southern Kings in the summer, will spend the remainder of the campaign looking to help them improve on a difficult Guinness PRO14 season so far.
Isuzu Southern Kings coach Robbi Kempson believes this weekend’s PRO14 derby match against the Toyota Cheetahs in Port Elizabeth is the ideal opportunity for his side to draw a line in the sand and show how much they have improved over the past six months.