S18 PREVIEW: ROUND FIVE, PART ONE

The Southern Kings are in Wellington for the opening match of Round Five and find themselves looking into the eye of a hurricane. The home side have the momentum heading into this match as they are coming off a one-sided 41-8 demolition of the Force.

The Kings are showing small signs of improvement but their error count continues to haunt them and costs them at the end of the day. They showed plenty of promise in Round Four, running in three tries against the Crusaders in Christchurch.

However, they conceded eight tries and conceded 57 points in that match alone to remain winless in the competition.

A huge positive for the Kings though has been the form of loose forward Chris Cloete and the huge impact hooker Edgar Marutlulle has made off the bench, form that sees him being rewarded with a place in the starting XV.

The Hurricanes are a second half side - the time the Kings usually fade - and have scored eight tries in the final 40 minutes while only being able to score three in the first half of play. They seem vulnerable on defence though and susceptible to conceding tries throughout the match.

The Kings have showed that they can score tries at any time of the match, however, that is negated by the number of tries they have conceded in the final 40 minutes - 12. That, combined with a total of nine first half tries conceded, further illustrates their poor defensive form.

The Hurricanes have the joint-leading try scorer in the competition in their side as scrumhalf TJ Perenara has dotted down on four occasions in as many matches. However, the Kings also has someone in their armoury who is capable of scoring - hooker Edgar Marutlulle is joined by a host of other players who have scored three tries.

Recent results:

Prediction: The only previous encounter between these teams was in Round Seven of 2013 when the Hurricanes hosted the Kings and defeated them 46-30. The Hurricanes have won their last six games against South African opposition, their longest such streak in Super Rugby history. Not since the Stormers in Round 11 of 2013, has a South African side travelled to New Zealand to play the Hurricanes and come away with a victory. TJ Perenara scored a try and contributed two try assists in his last encounter with the Kings, though he's scored only once in his last seven matches against South African opponents. Chris Cloete has won seven turnovers so far this season, the equal third most of any player in the competition and more than any New Zealand based player. The Kings will certainly be highly motivated and will cross the try line but the Hurricanes has too much fire power and should claim a massive 30 point victory.

Teams:

Hurricanes: 15 James Marshall, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Willis Halaholo, 12 Ngani Laumape, 11 Jason Woodward, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Blade Thomson, 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Vaea Fifita, 5 Mark Abbott, 4 Michael Fatialofa, 3 Jeff Toomaga-Allen, 2 Dane Coles (captain), 1 Chris Eves.

Replacements: 16 Ricky Riccitelli, 17 Loni Uhila, 18 Ben May, 19 Geoff Cridge, 20 Callum Gibbins,  21 Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 22 Vince Aso, 23 Matt Proctor.

Southern Kings: 15 Jurgen Visser, 14 Luzuko Vulindlu, 13 Stefan Watermeyer, 12 Shane Gates, 11 Malcolm Jaer, 10 Louis Fouche, 9 Ntando Kebe, 8 Jacques Engelbrecht, 7 Stefan Willemse, 6 Cyril-John Velleman, 5 John-Charles Astle, 4 Steven Sykes (captain) 3 Jacobie Adriaanse, 2 Edgar Marutlulle, 1 Sithembiso Sithole.

Replacements: 16 Martin Bezuidenhoudt, 17 Justin Ackerman, 18 Tom Botha, 19 Schalk Oelofse, 20 Chris Cloete, 21 Kevin Luiters, 22 Elgar Watts, 23 JP Du Plessis.

Date: Friday, March 25

Venue: Westpac Stadium, Wellington

Kick-off: 19.35 (08.35 CAT; 06.35 GMT)

Referee: Brendon Pickerill

Assistant referees: Nick Briant, Kane McBride

TMO: Aaron Paterson