Hoskins slams Spears
22 Jun 2006
Saru president Regan Hoskins says the Southern Spears are not acting in the best interests of South African rugby.
A 400-page affidavit was served on SA Rugby in Newlands on Tuesday afternoon, and on Wednesday morning lawyers for the Spears filed a motion in the Cape High Court for an urgent application to be heard on Thursday.
If successful, the Spears would play in this year’s Currie Cup (that kicks off on Friday) and the 2007 Super 14. However, the court application was postponed to 10 August after an “agreement” between Saru and the Spears.
“It’s a pity that the Spears have gone ahead with this action, because it’s not in the best interests of South African rugby,” said Hoskins on Boots & All. “We hope the issue will resolve itself soon.”
When asked if the Spears would not play in the Currie Cup, Hoskins simply said “Yes” before reaffirming Saru’s commitment to rugby in the Southern and Eastern Cape.
“We want to deal with the problems at a grassroots level first,” he said. “If you have a leaking tap, you don’t waste your time mopping up the drops, you fix the tap. We want to improve the situation of the three provincial unions in the region [Border, EP and SWD]. We want healthy unions to feed a healthly Spears franchise.
“We don’t want the Spears to contract players from other regions and then live in a make believe world. We want to nuture the talent in the region. One way we hope to do this is by basing the new South African rugby academy in PE. That will be a massive boost to the region.”
24 Comments
22 Jun 2006, 20:25 pm
PH**K ME, I am first
22 Jun 2006, 20:31 pm
The way I see it, nobody is acting in the best interests of South African rugby…
…except maybe Jake and John!!
22 Jun 2006, 21:01 pm
Like the idea of developing EC rugby, we had a lot of good talent come out of that region for years.
Before anyone says it, Hoskins is trying to fix a Brian VR F56kup. Don’t blame it on SARU of present, lets give them a chance to govern and we will then see what comes of it.
22 Jun 2006, 21:08 pm
I think dan Retief gave the best comment when he said that, with CEO McKeever there was too much emotive language and attitude. He also said quite clearly it was time for McKeever to step away from rugby, in the best interests of evryone.
Naas Botha said it was sad to see that EP had not managed to even keep the test stadium in good nick and that it was time EP helped itself by doing the basics and sorting out the unions and clubs. He went a step further and said it was all very well expecting everybody else to fix EP’s problems but what were they doing about ithem?
23 Jun 2006, 05:30 am
EP, Border and SWD are the three most “transformed” unions in the country. These guys want everything on a plate and don’t want to put in the hard work to make it work.
If the academy is run by somebody from EC or by a politically correct appointment, we can write it off as well – nothing good will ever come from it – and damn do we need a well organised academy structure. ABs and Convicts are lightyears ahead of us and if we do not get a good development system in place to nurture our youth, we will keep falling further and further behind. But everything is governed by B#$%$#y politics, makes one sick – politicians cannot even govern themselves.
23 Jun 2006, 05:31 am
….good money in politics though, and in ministry…
23 Jun 2006, 06:34 am
The most “transformed” unions are also the ones who play the worst rugby. They may look,to the government race-auditors, like a Ferrari but under the bonnet is a Fiat Uno 1100 motor.
23 Jun 2006, 06:45 am
The tackler.
You been to any of their games??? You seem to know an awfull lot about the sort of rugby they play. Do they show SWD play on tv in NZ?
23 Jun 2006, 07:24 am
No Gretep, they do not show them in NZ, because they do not manage to progress out of the lower leagues – I rest my case.
Don’t take out your frustrations on TT – address the issue.
23 Jun 2006, 07:39 am
Time for saru to admit they was wrong and include Spears, cos thats what was agreed on. Instead Saru smearing South African rugby in the mud and waisting money on legal fees and disrupting rugby.
Go spears ——> spear Saru
23 Jun 2006, 08:30 am
The bottom three teams in the Vodacom Cup were Border, EP and SWD. That says a lot.
23 Jun 2006, 08:41 am
EP – BORDER – SWD – ARE DEAD AS UNIONS, they should merge as the SPEARS AND GROW FROM THERE.
23 Jun 2006, 08:50 am
Yes Hoskins, taking players from other regions is living in a make believe world.
Yet, you have no problem with the larger unions raping these three regions of their up and coming talent every year.
Put your money where your mouth is, and develop a team in this region that will keep the talent.
23 Jun 2006, 08:51 am
Simon
They might not have been, had they not been misled that there would be a Spears side and removed all those players from their teams.
How did you get your job in rugby?
23 Jun 2006, 09:04 am
Verlede jaar het OP in die finaal van die Cravenweek o/18 gespeel. Hulle het 8 spelers van kleur gehad wat, Let Wel.. Op meriete daar was. Al 8 is kontrakte aangebied by ander provinsies
o.a. 4 by die Blou Bulle. O.P het ongelooflike talent, maar dit is n voldwonge feit dat die groter unies elke jaar die talent koop. Kan nie die spelers kwalik neem nie, want hulle wil vir hulle n loopbaan bou, en ongelukkig het die Oos Kaap nie die nodige strukture in plek nie.
23 Jun 2006, 09:04 am
KevinW
Good question , how did simon get his job he always seems to post comments and write articles without thinking or doing adequate research i mean sure those three teams were in the bottom three but it doesnt take a genius to figure out that about 30 of their players were lost to the spears during that period.
23 Jun 2006, 09:11 am
Hoskins is a fine one to talk.
Has he at any time offered any kind of olive branch to the Spears? Tried to remedy the situation?
His intentions are clear – as his alliances with Harold Verster his campaign manager, whose franchise has R3.5m in “grant” money from SA Rugby and the Natal Sharks and the CATS.
In other parts of the world this would be referred to as a tripartite alliance with their man in office.
23 Jun 2006, 09:54 am
Redox
Not so.
6 players ex Border and 4 ex SWD and the balance are the EP chaps.
23 Jun 2006, 10:12 am
Now there is going to be a show of UNITY! In the provisional cc fixture list [when SPARES were still to play..] no venues for the SPARES home matches were indicated – now there is an answer if ever there was one!
23 Jun 2006, 10:27 am
If you take away all the money from all the rich people in the world and distribute it evenly to the general population, then within 10 years you would have rich people and beggers again.
Same thing with the Spears. You can spoon-feed them all you want, but with the pathetic administrative skills in the region, within a few years the “Big” unions will be leading the pack and the Spears would be begging for money again.
15 years ago E.P. rugby WAS one of the big unions.
Then transformation arrived on the scene, and E.P.’s administration transformed faster than the likes of the Bulls, Sharks etc.
Incompetent officials got jobs just because of their skin-colour. The former (white) rugby-loving officials distanced themselves from the game in the region, and left the new rulers to their own devices.
And Voila. E.P. rugby – with its proud record -went down the drain.
Now no doubt there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth at my “insensitive” statement, but hey, no use closing your eyes to the truth.
Rather face it head on, and then try and solve the problem.
Use it, don’t use it, that’s my frank opinion.
Meanwhile, the former E.P. die-hard fans are filling the coffers of the stronger unions by joining Bulls and Sharks supporters clubs in their hundreds. Amazing how many cars you see in P.E. with Bulls stickers on them.
Danie Gerber is probably shaking his head in sadness.
Ah well, its not my problem. Let them wallow in the misery that they created.
Up north, thinhs have never been better. Go Bulls!
23 Jun 2006, 14:07 pm
Tacitus
It’s not EP it’s the Spears and nobody wwho supports the Spears has never put their weight behind the feeder unions – we know it’s a ****-up.
That’s exactly why a new franchise with new administration will work if it got the right support. These unions didn’t fall apart in a day, yet everyone expects it to be rebuilt and raring to go in a flash!
Pretty damn narrow-minded.
23 Jun 2006, 14:15 pm
Detritus
The Spears have not begged for money in fact they signed sponsors inDecember last year and then SA Rugby then went on this hatchet job.
Cheetahs and CATS continuously beg for money and have received over R10m in the past 12 months by being close to the SARU people and voting these grants to themselves.
And as a Bulls fan you should know that the Bulls were and have been entrenched in the Super 14 series for 12 years! What is two years then?
Just 4 years ago they did not win a game and were languishing at the bottom of the log so your bravado does not cut it.
Besides which my good man the Bulls were led by none other than a SWD kerel
23 Jun 2006, 16:19 pm
“We don’t want the Spears to contract players from other regions and then live in a make believe world. ”
nonsense. that stopped years ago. All of the super 14 teams have signed players that were developed in other regions and countries. there are a lot of players in the crusaders team that aren’t from Canterbury and the surrounding area
23 Jun 2006, 17:25 pm
BrumbyIV
Yah , If that means were in a make believe world then every pro rugby union in the world is too, including oregans shark.
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