South African Kings win 2011 Nations Cup after beating Portugal – Rugby news
International Rugby Board (IRB) Nations Cup was won by the South African Kings on June 19 at the National Arcul de Triumf Stadium, in Bucharest.
It was a fierce battle between the Kings and the equally strong Portugal squad. This was the very first tour of the South African Kings abroad and they team able to secure a well deserved win of 39-12 of against Portugal.
South Africa has also maintained a winning streak throughout the tournament, which is a just the cherry on top after they secured the title.
IRB Tournament Director, Beth Coalter stated , "On behalf of the International Rugby Board, I would like to congratulate the South African Kings on winning this year's Nations Cup, a result which was thoroughly deserved in a tough field of teams, three of whom will go on to compete at this year's Rugby World Cup in New Zealand."
Although the Kings’ squad had to miss out on much stronger players like Luke Watson due to his ill health, they swooped their way to the Nations Cup title with ease. Watson is a major player on the squad and his loss initially had a negative effect on the team.
Nonetheless, Jaco Engles and Clint Newland managed to score impressive tries during the first half of the final, which helped the team move past Watson’s absence in such a major game. This was evened out by the counter attack from Portugal’s Eduardo Acosta and Juan Severino. The third try from the blind side by Jacques Potgieter placed the Kings in the lead.
South African Kings glided to the Nations Cup trophy 2011 under the captaincy of Mzwandile Stick, who stated, "This was a good win, the third of the tournament and I am happy for the boys."
After the half time break, the much stronger Kings outshone Portugal by their brilliant performance. During the second-half of the game, Siyanda Grey, drove home a crucial try and upgraded his tally to six in this tournament making it the highest in Nations Cup.
Former New Zealand captain, Errol Brain, the coach of the Portugal squad mentioned that his team had “lost composure” during the second-half of the game and this cost them the game. However, Portugal gave a tough competition to the opposition with the highlight performance by Laurent Balangue, Vasco Uva and Jacques Le Roux from the Portugal squad. He also mentioned that players deviated from the original strategy which was scrupulously followed during the first-half of the game.
It was acknowledged by Brain that “silly mistakes” on their part along with the heat, had a part to play in their defeat against the South African Kings.
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