Southern Kings captain Luke Watson has said that SARU’s decision to relegate the Lions was unfair and expressed sadness at the Lions’ Super Rugby exit.
Speaking to SportsTalk in a radio interview, Watson sympathised with the Lions’ plight, and said fans had every right to feel aggrieved.
“I’ve always prided myself on seeing both sides of the story, and I can understand how Lions fans could become quite frustrated and angered at the inclusion of the Kings because the way in which it was done was not fair,” Watson said.
Watson said the Lions’ Super Rugby exit saddened him.
“I watched the Lions this weekend and it saddens me to see such a great team, with so many great players (excluded) just as they were coming back on the rise, winning a Currie Cup, playing so well and gaining momentum,” Watson said.
“Even now it saddens me because I look at a lot of players that had to go to the Bulls, to the Stormers. It’s not fair on them and it’s not fair on Lions supporters, so I can understand Lions fans being irritated and anti the Kings. It’s perfectly understandable.”
Watson said he understood the hostility towards the Kings, but felt that the blame lay at the feet of SA Rugby’s leadership.
“There are loads of Lions fans who would love to see us fail. I can understand that.”
“It was never our goal or purpose to get the Lions excluded. Our desire was to be included. In our minds it was never us versus the Lions. (We wanted) to bring top-flight rugby to (the Eastern Cape),” Watson said.
“The leaders and the decision makers at SA Rugby decided that this was the best way forward,” Watson opined.
Watson said that that with players like Andries Strauss, Steven Sykes, Demetri Catrakilis and Bandise Maku he felt the EP Kings could be competitive in Super Rugby, but did not play down the size of the challenge facing his team.
“Super Rugby is the fastest provincial competition in the world. Nothing quite comes close to the speed and tenacity of Super Rugby,” Watson said.
Kings captain Luke Watson has admitted to, and expressed shame and embarrassment for, some of his past statements.
Speaking to SportsTalk in a radio interview, Watson addressed some of the controversial episodes that have dogged his career.
For the first time Watson admitted to once saying that rugby in SA was ‘run by Dutchmen’.
Watson expressed remorse for the incident: “I have tried to deny it in the past, but the fact of the matter is I slipped up and made a mistake. In a heated debate and discussion, I used those words,” Watson said.
“It is the one thing in my life that I regret more than anything. In a heated moment, I took out my anger and my frustration, all the hurt and the tough times I have been through in my life”
“It’s something that even to this day I am deeply ashamed and deeply embarrassed about, because I have loads of Afrikaans friends, loads of people in my life that have supported me and invested in me in the Afrikaans community.”
Watson stated that it had not been his intention to discriminate against Afrikaans people, merely to highlight the imbalances and the inequality he believed existed in South African rugby.
“I never meant it in that regard. Do I believe that there is still a massive need for transformation in this South African rugby? Yes. Do I believe that South African rugby is still controlled by white people? Yes. Black people are not afforded the same opportunities that they should be afforded. The black community is not invested in, in the way it should be,” said Watson.
Watson said he wanted to make a “constructive contribution” and be a “good role model” for young rugby players in the future, and was committed doing his best to promote top flight rugby in the Eastern Cape.
http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/Super15/Luke-Watson-regrets-Dutchmen-slur-20130128
if one scrolls down to the comments on this article, one must wonder and look in the mirror. We are a sad Nation , with all this anger. Look, WHO WAS RIGHT? Cheeky standing up against apartheid or ALL these commenters on NEWS24, who might have been busy protecting it?
I am more and more convinced that Luke and Cheeky is just a sound board for people not accepting changes that happened in SA.
We had serious strikes here in Hoedspruit, people complaining about buses, getting home after 8, after they left home at 5 to go to work. Can WE ever imagine how difficult it is to raise a child in this circumstances. It was bad and the fruits are harvested NOW. Well the Watsons do regret some things they said , but will we ever acknowledge that they saw light faster than most of us.
Please take this post only as MY thought, it is from my heart and NO one needs to feel my way.
I feel no anger against him, he came clean.
Just another bloke playing rugby, some of my favorite players left my country to go play overseas and some even want to play for another country, let them be
All this anger is such a waste of life and energy
Screw it, going to enjoy rugby for what it means to me, this sport
Ja, well pity that that he has Keo as his apologist, and that Luke is a p0es.
Gena_ZA wrote:
one word that is seldom used but many off our old Boks whould not hesitate to say is “veraaiers” that is in fact far worse.
Southern Kings wing, Michael Killian, will miss out on the debut match against the Western Force after having broken his arm during a practice session on Friday.
Director of Rugby, Alan Solomons, says the break was picked up following x-rays taken over the weekend.
“Michael has a fracture to the mid third of his radius and will be out for between four to six weeks, which means he will miss out on the opening game against Western Force and most likely the Sharks game as well.” he said.
Killian was born in Uitenhage and attended Muir College, where he played in the U-19 and U-20 competitions for Eastern Province.
He started his professional career at Eastern Province in 2004, representing the Mighty Elephants in the Vodacom Shield and ABSA Currie Cup First Division.
In 2008, he moved to the Golden Lions, where he also became a regular for the Lions Super Rugby franchise. On 5 June 2012, he announced that he would rejoin the Eastern Province Kings.
6 @ superBul:
The Kings actually have a player fron the EC in their squad?
superBul wrote:
Whether you like the man or not, this is a true statement that I can absolutely testify to.
SARU feel F-All for true development, and I can’t see it changing in the next 2 decades. There is a large degree of protection of interests within both SARU and (the majority of) provincial unions that just will not allow any transfer of knowledge or power.
I’ve experienced it first hand and can say that it will not change.
It’s frustrating and was one of the factors that drove me away from Rugby administration, and I can understand why there is a reluctance by anyone to put >30 hours per week into a sport without reward or progress.
The divide between the clubs that have, and the clubs that don’t have is widening exponentially, and eventually something will give.
Good on you Luke for coming clean. You were always a talented player. Now go out and show it (again).
4 @ Loosehead:
@ Scrumdown:
I bet I can disagree with Puke Watson there. Unless he and dad pushed the millions SARU pumped into their union in their pocket. But transformation is not about rugby development. Its about the demographic make up of the team. In Netball its enforced. Teams must have a 5/2 ratio 5 players non white 2 white. How well have that worked for them. Lost their sponsors they did not get paid and a massive player exodus followed. There is a formula how they work it out and its been done at school level the formula is actually works the schools in the area, rugby fields available to schools and club in the area as well as the tun over applied to its infrastructure
This proud Dutchman thinks Luke Watson, the first white springbok quota player, is a doos. Personally, I don’t have a problem with transformation, but don’t force it on people, let it take it’s course.
xkreniwp wrote:
BTW: I wonder what would have happened if he used the K word instead of the D word…
Gosh thats 10 folk logged in and 7 guests too, have you lot not got any work to do
xkreekliphardwp_as_my_pelle_nie_by-is_nie @ 11
no that honour (first white quota player) must (in my humble opinion) go to the one and only
mr. jorrie muller
14 @ Ashley:
Ver-steek-seker!
@ Ashley: Hahaha! I forgot about mr Muller! But Luke is still a doos…
“xkreekliphardwp_as_my_pelle_nie_by-is_nie” – Ek neem aan jy’s ‘n m**rse wp ondersteuner?
xkreewp @ 16
verseker!!
@ superBul:
Nee flok, ons moet weer gesels my bruvva! Jy het die kat by die bal beet, sorry my tjom.
Daar is n moosa verskil tussen ontwikkeling van OP-rugby en die Kings-projek.
Cheeky is van die Sam Ramsamy-skool,1976.
As jy daai ou glo, kan jy net sowel glo Zuma bou n huis vir haweloses op Nkandla.
Gaan lees die 1976 rugby-geskiedenis van die Watsons weer, Springbokproewe in Kimberley ek gaan nie hier herhaal wat ek jou op Kleinbaai 2005 gese het nie.
“South Africa’s first black rugby franchise” (Cheeky se woorde), my alie!
How can you transform something when the majority at rugby stadiums is white people and since everyone but the government is getting poorer and SABC showing no rugby how are you going to get a certain to suddenly play rugby and be good at it? THe minority in South Africa is the majority in playing rugby. Just accept that and get on with it. (and I am of mixed race myself so those R word preachers can go f themselves)
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