Written by Darry Worthington for @Hollywoodbets. Follow them both on Twitter and Facebook now!
The Kings will continue their quest for a respectable result when they travel to Wellington this Friday. Their task won’t be an easy one as they are coming up against a Hurricanes side who seem to have rediscovered their groove.
Will the Canes put their Kings to the sword this Friday or can the South Africans show some much-needed resilience at Westpac?
Hurricanes v Kings | Friday 25 March | Westpac Stadium | 08:35
To Win Outright
Hurricanes 1/50 | Draw 40/1 | Kings 15/1
Handicap
Hurricanes (-34.5) 9/10 | Kings (+34.5) 9/10
The Kings didn’t fare well last weekend as they went down by 33 points to the Crusaders at AMI Park. The result saw the Kings become the only remaining team yet to garner a log point this season. They currently lie at the foot of Africa Conference two as well as the combined African conference. To make matters worse for Deon Davids and Co. The Kings have shipped over 40 points in all three of their matches this year.
There are a few positives for the men from East London heading into this weekend’s clash, however. Their display in the first quarter of the game against the Crusaders was magnificent. They managed to rack up ten points before Nemani Nadolo struck back with a try for the Crusaders on the 14-minute mark.
The Kings also managed to score a further two tries in the second stanza. The first came through replacement hooker Edgar Marutlulle while the second was scored by workaholic flanker Chris Cloete. The former is on a bit of a try-scoring run, having dotted down twice against the Chiefs a week prior to the Crusaders fixture.
Whilst the Kings were trying to save face against the Crusaders, the Canes were running the Western Force rampant. After a slow start to the game, Chris Boyd’s men clicked into gear with twenty minutes remaining. Late tries from live wire nine Tj Perrenara, forwards Ardie Savea and Blade Thompson, as well as young centre Ngani Lauampe saw the Canes run out convincing victors.
With it being so early in the week, there’s not much team news coming out of either camp although it looks like the Canes may be without Victor Vito who strained his calf in the victory over the Force. While Vito is said to have a 50 percent chance of taking to the field, I doubt Chris Boyd will be willing to risk him in a game his side should walk. Conversely, the Kings will definitely without a few on their starters with both loosehead Schalk Ferreira and blindside flanker Thembelani Bholi having picked up hamstring injuries.
Verdict: Hurricanes (-34.5) 9/10
The Kings have had solid starts to their previous fixtures this term and I expect them to do the same again. They are likely to ship a huge amount of points though as their legs tire and the game wears on. My tip for this one is to back the Hurricanes to clear the ? at 9/10
