Another World Cup opposition for coachless Kings

NEWS: Kings have added another World Cup-bound side, Namibia, to their preparations for the upcoming PRO14 2019/20 season which begins in September.

Earlier this week the Port Elizabeth-based franchise announced that they will take on Georgia in a warm-up match in Tbilisi on August 27.

On Friday it was confirmed that the Kings will play against neighbours, the Namibian national team, in two back-to-back warm-up matches in Namibia.

The first match will take place on Saturday, August 31 at the Hage Geingob Stadium in Windhoek, and it will be followed by the second clash in the coastal town of Walvis Bay at the Walvis Bay High School Stadium on Saturday, September 7.

The official Namibian World Cup squad will have been announced by the time the two sides take each other on.

“We are in a very fortunate position to have managed to secure pre-season matches against two national teams that are heading to the World Cup in Japan next month,” Southern Kings Team Manager, Zingi Hela, said.

“We can now confirm that after our trip to Georgia we have agreed with the Namibian Rugby Union that we will take on their national team in two important pre-season matches which the Namibian team will use for their preparations for the World Cup.

“We are confident that the matches will be tough and give us the competitiveness that we are seeking ahead of our season, and we will be able to provide the same for Namibia before they depart for Japan.”

Namibia is grouped with the Springboks at the World Cup. They will begin their campaign on September 22 against Italy in Osaka before they take on the Springboks on September 28. They will also face the All Blacks and Canada in the pool stages.