Pro14 midway report: Mapimpi Magic, Kings’ (hard) knocks

It’s been a mixed bag for the South African sides in the Pro14 to date.

The Cheetahs, without being particularly consistent, have given a decent account of themselves but it’s been a nightmare campaign for the Southern Kings.

Here’s how they’ve fared after eight rounds.

CHEETAHS

Where do they sit?

Rory Duncan’s troops are third on the Conference A log with 20 points. They’ve won four and lost four. It’s a massive 18 points adrift of leaders Glasgow Warriors, who are unbeaten in their eight matches.

What have they done right?

The fact that the Cheetahs haven’t been cannon fodder for the rest of the established sides is already a positive.

Given the rushed nature of getting them into the tournament, the South African Rugby Union needed the team to perform respectably in order to justify the hype.

Despite this still being early days, the signs are promising that the Cheetahs are turning Bloemfontein into a so-called fortress as they’ve won three of their four home games.

And their only loss there was a narrow 26-29 defeat to the Warriors.

They also showed in a magnificent 38-19 victory over powerhouse Leinster that they have the ability to adapt their game for Europe by keeping things tighter.

The Cheetahs will need to do that more on their travels.

What haven’t they done so well?

Ball protection is still a major issue for the Cheetahs.

It was a historic problem for them against Super Rugby’s more ruthless attacking sides and they’ve not learnt those lessons on their new adventure.

The Cheetahs concede an average of 14 turnovers per game – which is far too high and need to keep their discipline in check overseas.

They were penalised a massive 17 times against Italian side Zebre in Parma two weeks ago.

Defensive wise they also have some leaks to plug.

Who’s been their best player?

You can’t argue with wing Makazole Mapimpi’s scoring ratio at the moment.

He’s scored eight tries and has been a massive hit in the Pro14.

Last week’s announcement that’s he’s joining the Sharks for Super Rugby is a massive blow to the Cheetahs.

Utility forward Paul Schoeman has been typically busy and young flyhalf Ernst Stapelberg has a nice kicking game for a pivot in Europe.

But he’s still raw.

KINGS

Where do they sit?

Stone dead last in Conference B. They’ve lost all eight of their matches, harvesting a pitiful 2 log points.

What have they done right?

Well, at least they’ve given some players who’ve stalled at other unions a new lease of life.

Players like lock Bobby de Wee, Victor Sekekete and S’bura Sithole seemed pretty much stuck at their other teams and have the opportunity for more game-time.

However, they haven’t necessarily repaid the Kings with consistent performances yet.

This past weekend’s attacking performance with very little possession against Ireland’s Ulster – they scored five tries from 45% of the ball – also showed their backs’ potential.

What haven’t they done so well?

The problem for coach Deon Davids is that he can only work with what’s in front of him.

Recruitment for the tournament was difficult and the squad lacks inherent class.

The Kings’ pack isn’t competitive enough to troubled the bigger fish and the backline – generally stable – has been badly affected by the constant rotation at flyhalf.

That said, first-choice pivot Kurt Coleman’s injury has been a factor in that regard.

The Kings are also forced to make far too many tackles in matches, they’ll need to get their hands onto the ball more often.

Who’s been their best player?

Versatile flanker Andisa Ntsila was superb for the Kings in this year’s Super Rugby tournament and he’s carried that over into this competition.

He’s tireless, skillful as an attacking player and a brilliant defender.

In fact, his 104 tackles are the most by a player to date.

Fullback Coyi Banda is also an honest performer.

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