Isuzu Southern Kings coach Robbi Kempson returned to Port Elizabeth from Bloemfontein at the weekend disappointed that his men had been so comprehensively outplayed by the Toyota Cheetahs but definitely not unbowed or deflated. After playing so well in the first round Guinness PRO14 Rugby derby against their South African rivals in Port Elizabeth the previous week, with many observers feeling they were unlucky to lose, Kempson would have hoped for more from the return match than a comprehensive 45-0 defeat. Kempson was in a philosophical mood rather than a disconsolate one in reflecting on the seven try to nil rout after the Bloemfontein game. He reasoned that playing the Cheetahs on their home field was a tough ask and that small things had gone against his team from the off that made the task even more difficult. But with the next challenge of a two match away tour looming large, Kempson knows there is plenty to play for and he knows it would be fatal for a team that has shown positive signs of growth in the past few months to lose heart. The former Springbok prop would prefer them to be heartened by the improvements that shone through in the first derby showing rather than disheartened by what followed seven days later. “It will not be too difficult to get up after this as we have a strong leadership group,” said Kempson.
