The Southern Kings franchise, in a statement, requested that the SA Rugby Union (SARU) need to urgently confirm the Southern Kings’ Super Rugby participation from 2011.
The statement rejects the proposal for Super Rugby participation from 2013 by entrenching one of the Southern Kings partners in the Currie Cup or through a series of friendly matches.
“We are not prepared to wait and will do everything in our power to ensure that Super Rugby becomes a reality in the region from no later than 2011,” said Southern Kings CEO, Stephan Pretorius. The full statement reads: The Southern Kings franchise remains determined in its quest to bring Super Rugby to the Eastern and Southern Cape from 2011.
The presidents of the three provinces that comprise the Southern Kings -Cheeky Watson of the Eastern Province Rugby Union, Bantu Ondala (Acting) of the Border Rugby Union and Hennie Baartman of the South Western Districts Rugby Union – met in Port Elizabeth on Sunday April 18 to reaffirm their commitment to making Super Rugby participation a reality in the region from 2011.
The meeting discussed a number of issues that remain critical to the Southern Kings’ participation in the Super 15 competition from 2011.
“The three partner unions have reiterated that the franchise is ready to participate in the Sanzar Super 15 tournament from 2011,” said Southern Kings CEO, Stephan Pretorius.
“The meeting expressed concern at the apparent stalling tactics employed by the South African Rugby Union (SARU) since 2005, which seek to delay the franchise’s entry into Super Rugby until the 2013 season,” Pretorius said.
In 2009, the SARU leadership indicated that the Southern Kings would participate in Super Rugby from 2011. As recently as January 2010, Saru changed its position, stating that the Southern Kings could play from 2012.
The latest SARU position is that the Southern Kings must be prepared for participation from 2013.
The Southern Kings leadership agreed that this was a delaying tactic by Saru in the hope that Super Rugby was expanded to 18 teams in 2013, which would allow for a sixth South African franchise.
The Southern Kings leadership finds this situation unacceptable and believes it to be detrimental to rugby, not only in the Southern Kings region, but in South Africa. This is specifically in relation to the creation of opportunities for black players and broadening the support base for the game.
When the Southern Kings submitted a bid to SANZAR in September 2009 – to be included in the expanded Super 15 tournament – the franchise proved beyond doubt, and to the satisfaction of SARU and SANZAR that it would be ready to participate from 2011.
The meeting on Sunday confirmed that nothing had changed since the submission of that bid document and that the franchise remained convinced that it would be ready by the start of the 2011 season.
The Southern Kings leadership took note of the poor performance of some of the existing South African Super Rugby franchises and was adamant that the Southern Kings deserved to be given a similar opportunity to take part in the expanded Super 15 from 2011.
The meeting expressed disappointment that the Southern Kings’ readiness to compete in Super Rugby was regularly called into question, yet the poor performance of the Lions and the Cheetahs, in particular, continued to go unquestioned.
“The Southern Kings expressed concern over SARU’s apparent protection of the Lions and Cheetahs franchises – which have consistently performed poorly since the onset of the Super 14 in 2006 and presently occupy the 13th and 14th places in the 2010 Super 14 standings.
The Southern Kings leadership described this situation as “unacceptable” adding that SARU needed to act decisively to rectify the situation. The Southern Kings reiterated that the time was now appropriate for the franchise to be given the opportunity to participate in Super Rugby.
The Southern Kings do not believe it is possible to effectively prepare for Super Rugby participation from 2013 by entrenching one of the Southern Kings partners in the Currie Cup or through a series of friendly matches. SARU needs to urgently confirm the Southern Kings’ Super Rugby participation from 2011, which will allow the franchise to immediately activate sponsorships and, using this funding, begin contracting a squad that is of Super Rugby standard.
“We are not prepared to wait and will do everything in our power to ensure that Super Rugby becomes a reality in the region from no later than 2011,” Pretorius concluded.
Snoek
More. Ja, sommige van daai moere sal enigiets doen om ons te saboteer. Dis hoekom ek glad nie die afgelope 8 maande my gevreet bop Voldy gewys het bnie, ek et Roy gevra om my uit hulle databasis te haal, ek vertrou daai mense nie…
Superbul
Dunno.
Southern Kings probably a reality, along the lines as suggested by Gunnie above….but do they have the money in the E-Cape to get started? They would need at least about R70 mil, from what I could gather by reading Morne and TonyM, both of them are clued up with the goings on down there.
And then there is Cheeky of course, with all his political ambitions!
Need astude rugby-minded people like Morne and TonyM to manage the Spears financially, not ‘politicians’. Cheeky will just rip them off again.
The inside politics aside they must happen. The sponsors will support them i think. It is a marketable product. I dont like the next years format though. Who will go to watch the games between SA teams. They must run the Currie cup at the same time, let the games between the S14 teams count for the CC too.
@32
Definately a marketable product.
And they have hordes of good young players in the Border areas, judging by what I saw in the Cravens and also in the match between Dale and Queens last weekend.But they disappear after school….
Pietman wat is die rede hoekom jy nie n ADSL lyn kan kry by Telkom nie
@34 Ek het nie telefoonkabel na my erf toe nie, dis nog nie aangele hier in die nuwe uitbreidings nie, ons almal hier in die straat is kabelloos.
Maar die winkel se foon is nie n probleem nie, ek gaan dit maar daar laat doen tot tyd en wyl, en die satelietverbinding kry by die huis, dis blykbaar vinnger as ADSL en ‘uncapped’.
Jis dit is jammer , is daar kabels naby jou, soos in 500 meter?
Wie se sateliet foon vat jy , die Spacestream een van Telkom of iets anders?
@36 Ja, kabelboks op die volgende straahoek, maar ek vermoed ek sal die verbinding deur n privaat elektrisien moet doen?
Weet nie watse sateliet dit is nie, dink nie dis Telkom nie.
Sal maar laat doen wanneer ek terug is uit Namibia, ry so Sondag se kant stadig daarheen via die Hantam en Namakwaland.
Tjeers ou maat, laat ek gou gaan stort, moet laat kar diens op Hermanus.
35@ Pietman – Uncapped ADSL gaan nou ‘n algemene verskynsel word, binne die volgende maand of 3. M-Web het klaar goedkoop uncapped pakkies, so ook @lantic… telkom sal geforseer word om te volg….
Pieta, jy moet pasop vir Sateliet, dis maklik om te se dis vinniger… maar wat is vinnig en wat is stadig…. vinnige upload of vinnige download spoed? Sateliet se upload spoed is tradisioneel kak.
Vinnige download spoed EN upload spoed is die ideaal, nie net vir internet nie maar vir die dienste wat ons baaaie in die toekoms gaan gebruik soos “video voip” (video and voice over IP), skype, ftp (file transfer protocol) en indien jy van tyd tot tyd self groot mails wegstuur of aanstuur.
Moenie se, hey ek sal nooit daarby uitkom nie, dis om die draai… letterlik… en sommige van ons misbruik dit reeds tot groot mate. My persoonlike ADSL gebruik is meer as 24Gb se Cap ‘n maand, sonder om enige kak soos movies of games te download.
O en Pietman die kontrakte is gewoonlik 3 jaar en nogal duur. Kry eerder n privaat elektrisien of n Telkom kontrakteur en grawe n sloot na jou huis as daai punt nie te ver is nie. Die koperkabel se dikte is maar net 0.4mm dik anyway, so die totale afstand van die sentrale moet net nie meer as 5km wees nie.
Hi Pietman,
Gee, I wouldn’t mind sitting down for breakfast on the deck at the Harbour Cafe/Gecko Bar in Hermanus right now and watch Walker Bay live and breath beyond the harbour wall……
Just a little line to let you know that I’m aiming to catch this weekend’s round of S14 games at the Morgan Bay Hotel on the Wild Coast as part of a weeklong break in Kings country. I’m really hoping my guitar will be able to fit in the overhead stowage because airlines these days have no respect for a musos’ tools of the trade. In fact, airlines advise that the safest bet is to buy a seperate ticket for you instrument – can you believe that! Since when can musos afford extra tickets?
Anyway, hope that service of yours doesn’t klap the gatsak too hard…
Groente
@ RugbyBal 23
I knew someone might mention that point. So let me draw the comparison once again…
When the Lions played the BI Lions, they had a settled squad. They were pretty much in the same position as they are now. A captain full of heart, a relatively new coach and a struggling track record…
And what will be different at the Kings? I am sure that they will poach a couple of players (names like Chilli Boy, Rory Kockett and Ashly Johnson comes to mind) yet if they can give the players long term lucrative contracts they may even draw some bigger names (Boks playing in Eu wanting an opportunity to play in the WC). They will, just like against the BI Lions have a new team, captain, coach and squad.
The similarities are there. So now what…?
But RT, I agree with you. Super Rugby next year will push it a bit.
I am quite surprised by Saru’s claim that only one of the Kings feeders should play CC instead of the Kings as a whole.
@41 You are right.
@42 Let them play super rugby from 2012 or 2013. But get structures in place first. Maybe the Cheetahs and the Lions can merge again. Kings, Cats, Stormers, Sharks en Bulls. Sounds good to me.
hoekom moet die cheetahs en lions merge hoekom nie die bulls en stormers nie of die stormers en sharks nie
al drie die kings unies was in super rugby betrokke maar het hulself daar uit geadministreer wat van die king-shrks of die storming bulls
neewat laat een van daai provinsies maar eers die cc wen soos die (nie amptelike ) vereiste was vir die cheetahs dan kan hulle weer force
@44 Want Cheetahs en Lions is die twee k@kste spanne in super rugby.
Smallies… laas toe die Cheetahs en Lions die Cats was het dit nie so lekker gewerk nie.
Hier is die orde van dinge wat moet gebeur voor die Cheetahs en die Lions weer merge.
1: Die laagste SA span ruil eenvoudig met die 6de span (maw die een wat nie gespeel het nie) vir die daaropvolgende jaar.
2: Daar is ‘n relugasie wedstryd tussen die laagste SA span en die 6de span
3: Die top 5 CC spanne word ingeskryf (as die Kings ook daar sou speel)
4: Die Bulls en die Lions merge. Baie nader an mekaar, en die Lions kan baie by die struktuur van die Lions leer.
5: Die hele Vrystaat verval in wanorde. Die FSRU moet ontbind en almal vlug vir hul lewens na Johannesburg. Cheetahs spelers en ondersteuners bly nou in dies stad as die Lions. Merge.
En o-ja, Smallies, as jy nou wil sien hoe spat k@k en hare, meng tog asseblief die Stormers en Bulls… die ondersteuners haat dan mekaar, nou wil jy he hulle moet vir dieselde span skree… om nie eers te praat van die logistieke en praktiese probleem. Ek bly in Bellville maar ek oefen in Centurion… Storming Bulls sal oor sy eie voete val.
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