The Southern Kings will play friendly matches against all five of the Super Rugby teams in 2011 as well as top English club Saracens as the latest stage in a plan by the South African Rugby Union (SARU) to prepare the team for Super Rugby entry in 2013.

From Sport 24

The Southern Kings – the franchise made up of Border, the Eastern Province Kings and South Western Districts – will play pre-season matches against the Bulls (January 29), Cheetahs (February 5) and Lions (February 11) and meet the Sharks and Stormers later in the year. The team costs of the matches will be borne by SARU.

The matches against Saracens are scheduled for Port Elizabeth in February and Qatar in June.

Plans are also advanced to field a Kings XV in an international invitational tournament next year. An announcement on the subject is expected shortly.

“An incredible amount of hard work has gone on behind the scenes to get the Southern Kings to this point,” said Oregan Hoskins, president of SARU.

“SARU has managed to source sponsors and fixtures for the franchise, we have now managed to forge a draft agreement between the three unions and a business plan is in place to be signed off shortly.

“The last great hurdle is to secure a formal place in the Super Rugby competition but we are addressing that issue internally and will deliver a road map sooner rather than later.”

SARU CEO Jurie Roux has been tasked with identifying the preferred model to include the Southern Kings’ in Super Rugby in 2013 should SANZAR decide against further expansion. The options include promotion and relegation and a tendering system.

Hoskins listed the steps SARU had taken to get the Southern Kings this far down the road:

•  Appointed a project manager and prepared the Bid document for the Kings’ inclusion as the 15th franchise in Super Rugby in 2011. The independent assessors identified the Kings’ Bid as superior but awarded the franchise to Melbourne for geographical reasons.
• Resolved that the Southern Kings franchise would be included in Vodacom Super Rugby from 2013
• Completed the first draft of Southern Kings business plan
• Secured sponsorship from Vodacom and SuperSport to the tune of R10m
• Overseen the formation of the Southern Kings Company, with members from Border, SWD and EP
• Received SANZAR’s confirmation that it would use its best endeavours to accommodate a sixth South African franchise in Super Rugby from 2013
• Managed agreement of the following decisions:
o    That the president of EP would be the convenor of the franchise
o    Mr Stephan Pretorius would be the CEO
o    Eastern Province would be the anchor union
• Determined that EP, Border and SWD will each be 33,3% shareholders in the franchise
• Awarded the Southern Kings a grant of R6.6m for 2011
• Awarded the 2011 Vodacom Tri-Nations Test against New Zealand to Port Elizabeth with the proviso that the match is hosted for the benefit of all three Southern Kings unions.

“SARU is fully committed to the Eastern Cape rugby cause and has shown its commitment through tangible investment on all levels,” said Hoskins. “SARU believes that these steps will take Eastern Cape Rugby to the next level.”