Eastern Province Kings president, Cheeky Watson, has denied that there is any truth in the rumour that his Union have agreed with the South African Rugby Union (SARU) that they will not play Super Rugby next year.
rugbyweek
Die Burger newspaper reported on rumours that the Southern Kings may have agreed to take a back seat in Super Rugby for another year is SARU agrees to some of their conditions.
That scenario would mean that all five current Super Rugby franchises including the Lions have at least one more year left in Super Rugby.
Die Burger reported that some of the Kings requests were that they would “receive a huge sum of money from SARU” not to participate in the 2013 Super Rugby tournament.
Another demand was that the Eastern Province Kings would be given automatic qualification into next year’s Currie Cup Premier Division as well as a guaranteed Test match against either New Zealand or Australia for the next four years.
However, Watson strongly denied the rumours.
“The rumours are false,” Watson said.
“There is definitely no such agreement with SARU.”
“I think they are rumours that were started by people who want to sink the Kings.”
“We should have played Super Rugby in 2011 already, but stood back with the best interests of South African rugby in mind. ”
“A decision has been made that we will play Super Rugby in 2013 and that is what we’re striving for,” said Watson.
Just wish this matter would be resolved soon. I am tired of the suspense. Tired of the speculation and tired of double standards at SARU.
ag ou cheeeeeeeky julle sal julle sommer self sink
1@ Lion4ever:
Yes Lion4ever, no matter what nonsense is going on at the union I still feel sorry for all the decent Lions rugby fans, it can’t be a nice situation to be in.
oom Watson, getting 70 point down to the Rebels is not a joke, not even in PE, remember that
here’s something interesting…
if, lets say, the kings replace the lions, what will happen there? Will they be able to maintain the costs of their players, coaching staff, and facilities?
Lets say they slide even further down, financially of course, and the lose a lot of players, as they probably will, and one day we say “Ok, the Kings have failed, they got consistently beaten, lets get the Lions back” Will THEY then be able to do any better?
We might then be in a situation were we have one team that used to be good and in SR, but who are so bad they will never make it back. And one team who is fresh and new to it all, but who still struggles.
To be honest, no team deserves their place in SR. Performance alone should be the only guarantee for your place in the competition. Boardroom and courtroom shenanigans should have no place in determining who plays where. The Lions should be in line for relegation due to poor performance. But the Kings should also prove that they have what it takes to be there. Play a promotion/relegation series. Winner either stays or gets promoted. Simple. And if SARU decides to have the last placed SA team relegated on a regular basis, then at least the teams can prepare properly either way. That means no team can afford to slip up.
I have previously stated that the Kings should start a process that will get them prepared for SR.First priority should be to get promoted to the CC Premiership. In the meantime, to prepare the region for SR each of the 5 SR unions should each play a home game in PE. And they should spend some time conducting coaching clinics in the townships. Simple solution, and the Kings will get revenue, and see if the region can actually afford to host SR.
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