He’s the one that got away, but it seems suspicion is mounting in the Western Force camp that a spy intent on aiding new Super Rugby franchise the Southern Kings filmed some of their training on Tuesday.
Sport24
The new South African sports website www.arenasport.co.za has reported that the Force squad, who are due to play the newcomers in Port Elizabeth on Saturday (19:10 kick-off), were training at Victoria Park when players retrieving balls for the kickers noticed a “suspicious character” in nearby bushes.
He reportedly took off when spotted, carrying video equipment and a tripod, as players set off after him.
The man crossed a road and darted through a service station, eventually evading the chasing pack.
Force scrumhalf Alby Mathewson (@AlbyMathewson) referred briefly to the incident afterwards on Twitter: “Good team training this morning. Had a school watching, plus one. #Spygate.”
The website had not managed to get a reaction from the Kings at the time of writing.
Gmpfff… is all I can say.
The Kings apologists will quite obviously make this out to be another ploy against the Kings…
New Zealand referee Chris Pollock’s decision making will be under closer scrutiny than usual during the Australian Super Rugby derby between the Queensland Reds and NSW Waratahs in Brisbane on Saturday.
For the first time in the competition’s 18-year history a match official will wear a mini-camera which will transmit images through broadcaster Fox Sports.
“Ref Cam” is a device built into Pollock’s earpiece and will see rugby become the first football code to use the innovation as part of live television coverage.
Designed to deliver viewers a unique perspective from the field of play and bring fans closer to the game, Ref Cam has the backing of Australian Rugby Union and SANZAR.
“We are delighted Fox Sports have been proactive in seeking to expand and deepen the experience for rugby fans around the country,” said ARU chief executive Bill Pulver.
“To have an unprecedented view from the thick of the action, whether the referee is preparing to bring two massive packs together or he’s just centimetres from the ball as a pass is fired across the backline …. this is an exciting step forward in terms of general sports coverage.”
The “Ref Cam” coverage will be reviewed by SANZAR after the match at Suncorp Stadium with a view to considering its broader implementation.
“We are very supportive of the trial of this new technology,” said SANZAR chief executive Greg Peters.
“We are always keen to work with our broadcast partners on initiatives that enhance their coverage of the game and deliver an even better fan experience.”
OK, obviously the King denied it. Now who will believe them, HERE , not many.
Cape Town – The Kings’ director of rugby, Alan Solomons, insists they know nothing about an alleged spy filming the Western Force’s training session.
The Arena Sport website reported on Tuesday that the Force squad, who are due to play the newcomers in Port Elizabeth on Saturday (19:10 kick-off), were training at Victoria Park High School in Port Elizabeth when players retrieving balls for the kickers noticed a “suspicious character” in nearby bushes.
He reportedly took off when spotted, carrying video equipment and a tripod, as players set off after him.
The man crossed a road and darted through a service station, eventually evading the chasing pack.
But Solomons insists the person has no involvement with the Kings’ management team.
“I want to make it clear that it is not our policy to spy on our opposition,” Solomons told the Rugby15 website.
Solomons confirmed that the Kings received a request from the Force management team requesting a change in venue, and were doing everything in their power to accommodate them.
“We have asked our rugby squad to move their training session earlier on Thursday, and will be making our own training fields at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium available to them,” he said.
Solomons said the Kings would also be making provision from a security perspective, to ensure that the Force training sessions were kept private.
“We would also like to remind the general public that these training sessions are in fact closed sessions, and, while we understand that there is a lot of excitement at having international Super Rugby teams here for the first time, we would like to encourage the public to respect the Western Force’s privacy at this time,” he said.
Someone on N24 said
“hahahahahaha hilarious. VPHS is my old school, I was at Reeva’s funeral and stopped to look at what was going on. The school is right next to the crematorium… I left not cos they came after me. I was just taking pics… Excitement… WOW ll”
How much did WE help(SA) to create this new punch bag/joke/whatever we call it?
I would enjoy every moment when this underdog/rat team beats a Antipode team. Just to send the message to them, dont jump on the bandwagon if you dont know what its all about.
I enjoyed the spirit the NMMU played with against the “heiligdom van SA rugby”, the Maties. If the Kings can play with that same attitude Saturday the doomsdayers season will come to a abrupt end.
Go Kings
@ superBul:
I will even support any Australioan team against the Kings, actually any team that plays them. They will be the whipping boys of Super Rugby this year. They only have 5 maybe 6 or 7 players in their squad of Super Rugby quality. Not nearly good enough to sustain a campaign in this competition.
gbs @ 1
jumping the gun a bit, aint we?
super @ 2
i do
lions @ 5
i understand your frustration/anger, but shouldnt it be directed at the guys who made the decision to include the kings in place of the lions after they initially said that that would not be the case? should the same anger/frustration also not be directed at the same people for empty promises made to the spears/kings/ep rugby union for years?
#6
o, and go kings?
guess i’ll be the only one on here picking them for a few wins this season?
#7
Will support them as they are a SA team, unfortunately sufferring form the circus we call SA rugby administration
Gena_ZA @ 9
Exactly. These guys had so much oppertunity to bring the Kings into superrugby without hick-ups!! f*cked-up every single one of them!! (maybe because the believed they would get away with empty promises everytime?)
@ Ashley:
Ashley, I have no time for them, or for the unions that voted against the Lions. For that reason I will support any team that plays against the Cheetahs and Stormers. I just hope that should the Lions regain entry to Super Rugby, that they ditch the Pumas an Leopards, as we do not need traitorous junior partners.
Lions @ 11
sorry about that bru. didnt even know that the stormers voted for the exclusion of the lions. the fact that you have no time for them can be understood. i wouldve felt the same, but again the blame for this whole mess should go to sarugby and no-one else!!
@ Ashley:
Stormers have always been my least favourite team, and like plenty of others, the Cheetahs were my 2nd team. But I always supported the Stormers against overseas teams. Everytime execs from SARugby speak, and say the sky is blue, I check to make sure they are not lying.
lions @ 13
you like the bulls???? 
Lions became been my least liked team cause the union managed to stuff up a once proud union and take it to a very low and then the SA Rugby administration screwed them over further
Will still support them on the rugby field whenever they play, it is in my blood to support SA teams no matter how babdly the administration is, on all sides
Hope in 5 years from now they will be restored to their former glory and by some miracle the Kings will still be there in a Super 34 or something
gena @ 15
or a super-so-many-teams-everyone’s-lost-count-or-something!!
Rugby is a Business open to Corruption
20 February 2013 by Alan Straton
With the debate still raging on in lesser educated circles about whether the Southern Kings should be allowed more than two (4,6 or 10) foreign players or not, on how ‘lily white’ the team is or how EP have ‘failed’ at development, the Super Rugby team ‘selection’ needs to be put into perspective.
Player ‘selection’ is really only about which franchise has the deepest pockets and the most money to attract employees (we used to call them ‘players’ in the old days).
There is an accepted finite pool of recognised high level potential Super Rugby employees. These potential employees all recognise that their careers are finite and carefully make the choice of which team to work for based on the greatest reward offered. Not one of these high level employees will work for a team based on sentiment or loyalty. A rugby player has a finite working life and needs to be as visible as possible whilst making as much money as possible in the shortest time.
If you were a rugby player would you sign to play/work for a franchise such as the Southern Kings that has only been granted one definite year of existence?
The potential Super Rugby employee also has to factor in the fact that the Southern Kings franchise is openly hated and criticised by a high proportion of the rest of South Africa which could have major negative effect on employability and exposure going forward.
To sum it up the Southern Kings already have a stacked deck to play against.
Rugby Development:
The fact of the matter is that haters will always find a reason to hate. Many of those that are criticising the Southern Kings for not fielding a ‘development’ team are the very same ones that cast condescending comments on existing players of colour.
I interpret what the haters mean when they say ‘development’ as follows: “Black at all costs and preferably with incompetent black players to prove that blacks can’t play rugby and belong in a soccer team so that we can get back to playing a lily white game!”
The pool of Super Rugby players/employees of colour is even smaller than the pool of lily white players.
Two recent major young Super Rugby level talents have sprung from marginalised and persecuted Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape though; Siya Kolisi and Seargal Petersen. Granted EP Rugby cocked up on failing to sign Kolisi but atoned for their sins by snapping Petersen up.
My challenge is simple: Show me another marginalised and persecuted region that has produced two such players of colour in recent history? Even better: Show me any established Super Rugby franchise that has managed to produce two such players of colour in recent history?
Eastern Province and Border (e.g. Southern Kings hooker Andise Maku) have the ability and grass roots spread to produce outstanding players of colour. It is a source of pride for me that both Petersen and Kolisi are also products of my alma mater, Grey High School, which recognised their talent and provided scholastic bursaries for them to further their careers.
Read more: http://mype.co.za/new/2013/02/rugby-is-a-business-open-to-corruption/#ixzz2LScszejx
It is one of the most anticipated matches of the year – the Southern Kings making their Super Rugby debut.
The Western Force, the tournament rookies’ opponents at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday, will know exactly how heavy the burden of expectations can be ahead of your first match in this SANZAR showpiece.
Seven years ago – on February 10, 2006 – the Force welcomed the Brumbies to Perth and went down 10-25 – an inauspicious start in a season in which the Force won only one game, beating fellow newcomers the
Cheetahs in Round 13. And the Force has not exactly set the Super Rugby stage alight since – finishing 13th (2010), 12th (2011) and 14th (2012) in the last three years.
Like the Force back then, the Kings are not universally popular ahead of their debut.
While the Force had beaten off the challenges of a few other outfits in the Australian franchises bidding war, the Kings’ entry into Super Rugby has been clouded in much more controversy – they replaced the Lions in a boardroom drama that has made them public enemy number one in Gauteng … and elsewhere in the country.
While the Eastern Cape fans, obviously, want the Kings to do well, there is an expectation and a strong desire from outside the region that the Port Elizabeth-based franchise will fail.
However, Kings captain Luke Watson said they are working hard on avoiding and ignoring the sideshows that are sure to resurface repeatedly this week ahead of their entry onto the Super Rugby stage.
“We focus more on the job at hand,” Watson told this website in an exclusive interview from the team’s Port Elizabeth base.
“We try and internalise things, control the things we can control and the things we can’t control just leave them and let them be.
“We are very much internalising our motivation and inspiration and also our expectation – we are fully focussed on the task at hand.”
Most pundits believe the Kings will struggle to win any of their games and will have to play in a promotion-relegation series against the Lions in August.
Watson said they can’t look too far ahead and have to focus on the games in their immediate future.
“It [the promotion-relegation match] is for the team that is last on the South African standings and if that is us, then so be it,” Watson told this website.
“We could, possibly, have just one shot at this [Super Rugby].
“We have to be as accurate and as effective as we can be to set targets and goals as to where on the standings we want to be.
“Every single team starts of the year saying: ‘We can win this, let’s win this.’
“Realistically, for us, we would like to be competitive and whatever that means, we would like to represent the Eastern Cape and South African rugby and do so proudly on the playing field.
“We would also like to be competitive at an international level – for us it is game-by-game and taking it as it comes and seeing what we are capable of as a side.
“As a side we don’t have a history in this competition, so it would be presumptuous of us to set goals in stone.
“We can just take it game-by-game.”
By Jan de Koning
@ superBul: “My challenge is simple: Show me another marginalised and persecuted region that has produced two such players of colour in recent history? Even better: Show me any established Super Rugby franchise that has managed to produce two such players of colour in recent history?”
How about Juan De Jongh, Gio Aplon, Marcel Brache do they count?
Many rugby supporters in the Eastern Cape Province are jumping for joy following a decision by the executive of the South Africa Rugby Union to grant the Southern Kings franchise a slot in the Super Rugby next year – at the expense of the Lions.
However, judging by feedback on local blogs, news media and talk shows, Lions fans – and administrators – are of course, seething.
Look this Copy and Paste articles wont go down well, i might even find them removed but i am sick and tired of all the accusations , the fact is everyone of the SA Super rugby teams knew this was coming.
They are harshly criticising SA rugby authorities for sounding the Lions’ death knell as it regards Super Rugby participation next year. Even the Lions powers-that-be are unhappy that the Kings franchise have been awarded a slot without, “having to work for it”.
Kevin de Klerk, president of the Lions Rugby, say they have accepted the decision in principle, but it is grossly unfair that the Lions should bow out in this fashion.
But memories can be short sometimes. The Kings were promised a Super Rugby slot about seven years ago, but that never materialised up until now, for obvious reasons.
Eastern Province at the time did not have the players, financial, and management capacity to play in such a huge competition; there was also a changing of the guard at SA rugby union headquarters in Johannesburg.
@ Stormersboy:
Read this article and read the comments too, with a open mind and tell me is this not just a vendetta against Cheeky Watson, who dared to make a stand against the old regime?
There is now a massive thunderstorm around me so let me get off the PC and switch off.
Will see whats left of this article later.
http://www.theroar.com.au/2012/08/24/southern-kings-get-super-15-berth/
@ superBul:
Read it, I am conflicted, on the one hand I can agree with the Lions’ demotion because of poor performance but on the other hand i just don’t like the way this was sold originally vs how it seems to be turning out.
But they are in now, lets see how the season goes.
SuperBul is officially a Southern Kings supportter….
He just loves the underdog!
From now I will call him SuperKingsSupporter…
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