Kings bank on local talent

The Southern Kings team to take on the Western Force in their debut Super Rugby game in Port Elizabeth on Saturday does not feature any foreign players in the starting line-up.

The run-on team includes three Springbok players in centre Andries Strauss, hooker Bandise Maku and captain Luke Watson, with Kenyan forward Daniel Adongo and Kiwi back Hadleigh Parkes named on the replacements bench.

The Eastern Cape franchise named five foreign players in an extended 35-man Super Rugby squad despite a SARU directive that South African sides are only allowed two, but Argentine Test players Nicolas Vergallo and Thomas Leonardi have been left out of the match-day squad along with French hooker Virgil Lacombe as all three players are currently injured.

Former Western Province Currie Cup-winning flyhalf Demetri Catrakilis will pull the strings at flyhalf, whilst out wide 2012 Craven Week star Sergeal Petersen will be hoping to make a big impression on his senior debut.

Southern Kings: 15 SP Marais, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Ronnie Cooke, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Marcello Sampson, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Luke Watson (captain), 7 Wimpie van der Walt, 6 Cornell du Preez, 5 Steven Sykes, 4 David Bulbring, 3 Kevin Buys, 2 Bandise Maku, 1 Schalk Ferreira.

Replacements: 16 Edgar Marutlulle, 17 Jaco Engels, 18 Daniel Adongo, 19 Jacques Engelbrecht , 20 Johan Herbst, 21 George Whitehead, 22 Hadleigh Parkes.

Date: Saturday, February 23

Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth

Kick-off: 19.10 (17.10 GMT)

Referee: Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa)

Assistant referees: Stuart Berry (South Africa), Christie du Preez (South Africa)

TMO: Johann Meuwessen (South Africa)