Currie Cup
Western Province flyhalf Gary van Aswegen is set to join the Eastern Province Kings for a trial period.
Van Aswegen joined up with the Port Elizabeth-based team on Tuesday.
The trial period will be for one month, but if all goes well, the 24-year-old could represent the EP Kings in this year’s Currie Cup.
After a lengthy layoff through a foot injury, Luke Watson is excited to be back in the EP Kings team to face the Bulls in a Super Rugby friendly at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Friday.
The 30-year-old loose forward was named by coach Carlos Spencer as captain of the team and would lead the side from the back of the scrum.
Watson has been out of rugby since the Super Rugby competition last year, having been hampered by a broken foot bone.
Lock Izak van der Westhuizen has not passed his medical fitness tests and as such will not be joining the EP Kings for their Currie Cup campaign.
The second row forward started his professional career with the Cheetahs and moved to Edinburgh in 2012 before joining up with the Kings this year.
EP Rugby CEO Charl Crous said the three year contract with the 28-year-old lock out of Kimberley, was subject to his passing his medical fitness tests, and as such the contract would not be coming into effect, effectively releasing Van der Westhuizen.
The Leopards and Griquas maintained their dominant form in the second round of the Currie Cup Premier Division qualifying round as they secured back-to-back victories to remain in the top two positions on the log table.
The Leopards thumped the Valke 45-22 in Kempton Park on Friday, while Griquas beat the Boland Cavaliers 21-3 in Wellington on Saturday, to remain the only unbeaten teams in the series.
The Leopards’ bonus-point victory, however, allowed them to leapfrog the Kimberley side for the top spot on the log.
In the other match, the SWD Eagles pipped the Griffons 40-37 in George.
Luke Watson is eyeing a return to rugby when the Kings tackle the Bulls in a friendly in Port Elizabeth next Saturday.
The 30-year-old loose forward has been beset by injuries in the last year, and hasn’t played any competitive rugby since last year’s Super Rugby competition.
Watson’s injury woes started when he fractured a bone in his ankle towards the latter part of the 2012 season. He returned to play for the Kings in their debut Super Rugby season last year, but was immediately sidelined after taking a blow to the throat in their first game against the Western Force.
EP Kings (0) 12 / 34 (17) Wales (Final Score)
Eastern Province Kings and Wales did battle in a mid-week game during the June Internationals at
Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth at 19:00 SA Time (18:00 BST, 17:00 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.
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Lions flyhalf Elton Jantjies is set to head to Japan and won’t be available for the Currie Cup later this year.
According to reports, the 23-year-old Springbok has signed a deal with the NTT Shining Arcs.
Darron Nell will captain an EP Kings side eager to prove themselves when they meet Wales in an international rugby friendly at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday.
Although Kings coach Carlos Spencer said the match came at an early stage in terms of their Currie Cup preparations, the players were keen to get on to the field after several months of a conditioning and fitness programme.
The Kings, who will play in the Currie Cup premier division this season, starting in August, host Wales in the opening match of their South African tour. Tuesday’s game will be followed by Tests on 14 June and 21 June.
The Free State Cheetahs will tackle this year’s Currie Cup competition under a new head coach, the Free State Rugby Union said on Thursday.
Super Rugby coach Naka Drotské hands over the reins for the coming domestic competition to the coach of this year’s Free State Vodacom Cup side, Rory Duncan.
Drotské, who would be heading off to the UK to expand his coaching knowledge abroad, remained the head coach for the Cheetahs Super Rugby campaign next year. Griquas coach Hawies Fourie and former Springbok prop Os du Randt would be his assistants for the 2015 competition.
South African-born Italian international Tobias Botes and Australian U20 lock Steve Cummins have joined the EP Kings until the end of the 2014.
Tighthead prop, Tom Botha, has also joined the Eastern Province team as their preparations for re-entry into Currie Cup steps up a gear.
Western Province Vodacom Cup coach John Dobson is in England to learn skills from rugby league side Wigan and union team Northampton.
Dobson paid for the two-week trip himself but has informed the union’s Director of Rugby, Gert Smal, about it.
The Eastern Province Kings have confirmed two new player contracts ahead of their re-entry into the Currie Cup Premier Division.
EP Rugby CEO, Charl Crous confirmed that the EP Kings have signed prop CJ van der Linde until the end of the 2014 season, as well as signing hooker Edgar Marutlulle until the end of 2015.
The Vodacom Bulls may well add Springbok prop Trevor Nyakane to their ranks as their next acquisition when his contract expires at the end of the season.
Nyakane, who became a Springbok last season but was dropped because of disciplinary issues, is known to be on the target list of the Bulls as they look to strengthen their squad ahead of the 2015 season.
Former Springbok utility back Franco Smith has been appointed as assistant coach of the Cheetahs.
Backline coach Hawies Fourie has been released to take charge of Griquas.
Springbok prop CJ van der Linde could feature for the Eastern Province Kings in the Currie Cup Premier Division later this year.
The 33-year-old pitched up at the Kings practice on Tuesday.
Jake White of the Cell C Sharks has announced that Brad Macleod-Henderson will be the Head Coach of the Cell C Sharks during the ABSA Currie Cup campaing in 2014 whilst he will take a step back from coaching and mentor at Under 21 and Under 19 levels.
The South African Rugby Union will discuss the reintroduction of the quota system into the local game as soon as next month in order to align itself with the demands made by the Minister of Sport surrounding transformation in the game.
SARU president Oregan Hoskins said that the sport will need to make “radical, drastic, immediate changes” to comply with the pressure being brought upon it by the Sports Ministry after Saru and other federations met with the government regarding the proposed changes, including a possible reintroduction of quotas into the Absa Currie Cup and Vodacom Super Rugby competitions.
But Hoskins has committed rugby to embracing the changes, and will see them as ‘a positive’ – even though they may not be ideal in the short term.
The Eastern Province Kings are chasing the signature of Springbok prop Brian Mujati ahead of the start of the Currie Cup.
The Kings have already been bolstered by the recent signings of lock Izak van der Westhuizen (Edinburgh), hooker Michael van Vuuren (Stade Français), centre Tim Whitehead (Sharks), scrumhalf Kevin Luiters (Cheetahs) and wing Paul Perez (Samoa).
Gert, may I wish you all the best in your new position. I am sure you are the man who can restore pride and dignity to WP Rugby but please don’t let “diplomacy” trip you up at the first step and derail everything before it even starts.
A Big Broom Sweeps Cleanest
Please use the opportunity to sweep the stage clean and start afresh much like the Sharks have done to great success. This is not an attack on the coaches as people who are all ‘good guys’ but it is important we recognize their limitations and the dire situation in which WP Rugby finds itself.
The Eastern Province Kings have confirmed Kevin Luiters as their latest signing ahead of their 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division season.
EP Kings CEO, Charl Crous, confirmed that the 21-year-old Luiters, who played scrumhalf for the Free State Cheetahs, had officially joined the Currie Cup training squad on Monday.
Vox Telecom, a leading South African telecoms provider, has signed an associate / extended sponsorship agreement with the Golden Lions Rugby Union (GLRU).
The agreement allows Vox Telecom one title sponsor game during the Super Rugby tournament and also gives the company branding rights for the remainder of the competition and Currie Cup.
The Eastern Province Kings again dipped into the Sharks Tank’s resources to bolster their Currie Cup squad.
The EP Kings revealed on Monday that they have signed Springbok and former Shark Shaun Sowerby as their new forwards coach.
The vastly-experienced Gert Smal will join Western Province Rugby as the new Director of Rugby, with effect from April 1, 2014.
A new era is set to dawn on Western Province with John Dobson likely to be named Currie Cup coach, according to reports.
The Western Province Rugby Union (WPRU) will hold a press conference on Monday, where Gert Smal is expected to be appointed as Director of Rugby.
Former captain Keegan Daniel will depart the Cell C Sharks at the conclusion of the Vodacom Super Rugby tournament to join Kubota in Japan.
Having joined The Sharks Academy in 2004, Keegan went on to make his Sharks debut in 2006 against the Reds. With 199 caps to date for the Cell C Sharks, 59 of those as captain, he led the team to ABSA Currie Cup glory in 2013.
The Cheetahs are fighting tooth and nail to retain the services of Springbok flyhalf Johan Goosen, but know they are in a tough tug-o’-war.
Cheetahs backline coach Hawies Fourie, speaking to this website during the team’s bye week, admitted they are aware of reports that Goosen has dashed off to France for talks about his future.
Springbok and Cheetahs flyhalf Johan Goosen has secretly flown to France to explore possible future career opportunities, the Volksblad website reports.
The Cheetahs have a bye weekend in Super Rugby which enabled the 21-year-old to head abroad.
The EP Kings have confirmed three new signings ahead of their preparations for the Currie Cup Premier Division.
EP Kings CEO, Charl Crous confirmed that Michael van Vuuren, Tim Whitehead and Hansie Graaff will all be joining the Kings over the coming months, along with Izak van der Westhuizen whose signing has already been announced.
Gert Smal is set to be installed as the Western Province director of rugby as the union prepares to overhaul the much maligned Stormers management team.
According to reports, it is understood that Smal, who is a big favourite of Wakefield and was first sounded out about the role last August, could be announced in his new position as early as next week, with Wakefield now assured of the ratification of his proposal by the board, who he says support him 100%.
The fixtures for the Absa Currie Cup Qualifying Competition and the new eight-team Premier Division were released by the South African Rugby Union (SARU) on Tuesday.
The Qualifying Competition, which will be contested by GWK Griquas, the Leopards, SWD Eagles, Boland Cavaliers, Down Touch Griffons, Border Bulldogs and Valke, will kick off on the first weekend of June and run until 19 July, when the top team on the log will be granted entry into the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division.
Edinburgh rugby player, Izak van der Westhuizen, who also played for the Free State Cheetahs, will be joining the EP Kings in June.
EP Rugby CEO, Charl Crous said the 28-year-old lock out of Kimberly, had signed a three year deal with the Kings.
Following a strategic meeting by the board of the Blue Bulls Company (Pty) Ltd, it was decided that Vodacom Bulls Head Coach Frans Ludeke, following the completion of the Vodacom Super Rugby competition, will continue in a similar position with the Vodacom Blue Bulls in the Absa Currie Cup.
Former All Black Carlos Spencer has been tasked to guide the Eastern Province Kings in their return to the Currie Cup competition.
Spencer, who joined the Kings in December, has been appointed head coach for the Currie Cup season.
The Golden Lions Rugby Union is pleased to announce Xerox as the new Golden Lions title sponsor for the Currie Cup tournament.
The three-year deal sees Xerox come on board as the naming rights sponsor of the senior Golden Lions team for the 2014 to 2016 competitions.
Former Treviso coach, Franco Smith has been appointed as Assistant Coach for the Currie Cup. Smith gained a wealth of experience whilst coaching Treviso.