EP Kings have Solly to thank
25 Oct 2010
MARK KEOHANE, in his weekly Business Day column, says Alan Solomons has maximised his resources in Port Elizabeth.
It is no exaggeration to emphasise the importance of the Eastern Province Kings beating the Pumas and playing in next year’s Currie Cup Premier Division. It is also no exaggeration to emphasise the contribution of Kings director of rugby and head coach Alan Solomons in making this all possible.
Solomons, in a season, has done what the politicians and the rugby administrators have been speaking about for the past five years, which is to turn Eastern Province into a rugby region once again.
There were no pre-season promises from Solomons that in 2011 Eastern Province would again be among the top eight premier domestic sides in South Africa. There was no handout from South African rugby in the form of a restructured Currie Cup competition that accommodated the Eastern Cape by way of Eastern Province. There was no treasure chest, filled with cash to buy the best players and buy a winning culture.
All Solomons enjoyed, by way of luxury, was his passion, that of provincial president Cheeky Watson and the warrior spirit of De Wet Barry to lead a bunch of wannabes and could have beens.
Solomons, like he did when he was at UCT, Western Province and Ulster, relied on passion and a work ethic that has never failed and never ceased to amaze those around him.
Many class players have promised Solomons they will sign with the Kings when the side’s Super Rugby participation is guaranteed, which is supposedly 2013, but understandably none were prepared to sign for a team in the First Division and more familiar with a wooden spoon than the silver spoon.
Eastern Province rugby has been a mess for some time. Administratively it has been a jungle that has attracted every sort. Watson has restored integrity to the boardroom in the province but all that restores respect to a team is consistently positive results.
Not only did Solomons have to battle cynicism and the stench of mediocrity, but he had to build a winning culture with players who will be lucky to make it to Super Rugby because their talent doesn’t match their enthusiasm.
The result has been as remarkable as the 36-all away draw to the Pumas in the first of two promotion-relegation matches; the very same Pumas who went to Coca Cola Park (Ellis Park to the traditionalists) a fortnight ago and whipped John Mitchell’s hyped Lions.
Mitchell has rightly been praised for finding the occasional roar in the Lions this year, but seven wins from 14 is a telling statistic that demands acknowledgement and therefore perspective.
Solomons’ effort also demands perspective and the kind of acknowledgement that has always been denied him in South African rugby.
Solomons is not popular among South African rugby administrators because he is intelligent, hard working and has never suffered a fool. When involved with Western Province and the Springboks (as Nick Mallett’s assistant in 1997 and 1998) he encountered many fools and never excused their incompetence. He was vocal in his criticism and refused to play the political game of politeness.
In Watson he has found an ally and comfort that having an opinion is a good thing and exercising one’s right to think is even better. He has a provincial president who enjoys an intelligent coach and promotes the value of debate.
Solomons challenges any stereotype and his urgency and intensity scares more people than it seduces, but he has an ability to maximise any resource and the one thing he has always had is loyalty from players.
Barry, a WP and Solomons favourite 10 years ago, is an example of this loyalty, but those players who are close to Solomons will also tell you that they know they have Solomons’ loyalty, which is why he so often gets a return on his player investments.
Solomons is a sporting cliche because so much of what he does is based on the principle that a close team is a successful one – and there’s nothing wrong with sporting cliche that make us smile.
Eastern Province rugby is a point away from reaching the point from which there should never be a return to the sort of mediocrity Solomons inherited.
Never has a play-off promotion match mattered so much to South African rugby because an EP victory will be so much more than a win on the rugby field.
And for that Alan Solomons, Cheeky Watson and De Wet Barry can never be thanked enough.
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245 Comments
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25 Oct 2010, 17:30 pm
100. XhosaKid(XhosaKid):
at last – somebody at least giving a reasonable explanation.
well then, the dolphins have been transformed for bladdy years.
25 Oct 2010, 17:32 pm
You can’t argue the facts … you look at players of colour, not just ethnic blacks if that is the correct term, and you will find that they have their roots in the Eastern Cape (Mossel bay to Kokstad).
Perhaps we can have a list of black Boks without their roots in the EC. Dlulane, Solly, Odwa, Akona, Nokwe etc. Is their another region to rival it.
Then you take the Ashley Johnsons, Zane Kirchners, Kabamba Floors, Bevin Fortuins etc. from SWD and surrounds
Lets not even start on the make-up of the sevens who run onto the field with at least a 50-50 against the All Blacks
And then of course Brent Russell, Luke Watson, Kankowski, Daniel, Potgieter, Killian, Kockott, Mvovo, Basoon, Joann Muller, Rory Duncan etc. etc.
These are ALL (except) Dlulane people that are still playing and would make a well balanced team on all fronts (quality and colour).
And this is the poorest region in the country, so imagine what proper development could do?
But you know what they say about common sense… its not that common.
25 Oct 2010, 17:35 pm
101. Charo –
Dolphins enlighten me? Don’t recall too many – Malcolm Marshall don’t speak too good Zulu. And in the case of Klusener, it’s just a nickname…
25 Oct 2010, 17:35 pm
Charo @ 100
Possible yes, as an example, I saw Dave Miller play and I knew he was destined for better things and nothing stood in his way, not some “quota” player just for the sake of numbers. The kid is pure class, head and shoulders above his peers, thats why he is in the team, thats how sports should be, TRANSFORMED!!!
25 Oct 2010, 17:38 pm
@104, yes, Dave Miller is white……. hope you keep up….
25 Oct 2010, 17:48 pm
the Law of the Transformation of Quantity into Quality and vice versa.”
According to this law, as we have already seen, “the process of development” is (a) one in which a number of insignificant and gradual changes in the quantity of something are abruptly succeeded by a marked change in its quality, and (b) one in which these abrupt changes are not accidental but are “the natural result” of the preceding quantitative changes. (c) that these changes of quality are “an onward and upward movement,” (d) that they are a “development from the simple to the complex,” and (e) that they are “from the lower to the higher.” With this sort of change is contrasted the sort of change that nature is held not to undergo, namely gradual changes, “movement in a circle,” “simple repetition of what has already occurred.”
Stalin…
25 Oct 2010, 17:50 pm
100. XHOSAKID(XHOSAKID): i’ve been saying the same thing for months but charo is seemingly dof to this kind of reasoning. When derick kuun plays hooker before the u21 baby bokke cappie & his reserve then you know ain’t sh*t transformed about that lot!
25 Oct 2010, 17:50 pm
103. kevin w(kevin w):
talking of indian cricketers.
unless they are excluded from this discussion?
104. XhosaKid(XhosaKid):
we have some good youngsters emerging for the proteas
105. XhosaKid(XhosaKid):
talking to yourself?
25 Oct 2010, 17:51 pm
96. XHOSAKID(XHOSAKID): So there are no “tribes” and there are not 11 official languages…?
There are no royal lines to these tribes and no traditions and history…
Must have been “transformed”…
25 Oct 2010, 17:54 pm
107. Transformation(Transformation):
hogwash.
you have evaded giving a straight answer to me every time i have asked.
you are good at archiving – find me a post from you to me spelling out your view on transformation.
8)
25 Oct 2010, 17:55 pm
@109
What was the relevance in mentioning Xhosa and Zulu in your original post other than to drive the tribal wedge?
25 Oct 2010, 17:56 pm
@ 108. Charo
Aaahhh Indians – even that I don’t recall too many. But then surely if the entire EP side should be black as you argue, the entire Dolphins side should be Indians based on the fact that you argue them so great in transformation. They do by far have the most indian cricket players.
In fact, when i think Dolphins a certain Kevin Pietersen comes to mind – the boy who dissed the country because of transformation and tattooed and England flag onto himself.
25 Oct 2010, 17:58 pm
On “Transformation”
George Orwell once wrote that ‘at any given moment, there is a sort of all-pervading orthodoxy — a general tacit agreement not to discuss some large and uncomfortable fact.’
…explains the evasion of the transformationistas to please explain transformation….
25 Oct 2010, 18:00 pm
111. XHOSAKID(XHOSAKID): The Need for Speed…? And bigger black forwards?
Keep up and read…
25 Oct 2010, 18:00 pm
Heavens Game @113
The irony of your post, take a mirror, please…
25 Oct 2010, 18:00 pm
@113.
What would George Orwell have written of Apartheid and linking to communism doesn’t appear that bright either considering who was instrumental behind ending apartheid.
You have Verwoerd as a role model, i’ll take Mandela.
25 Oct 2010, 18:04 pm
@114, well then I guess the English were/are expect at this “evasiveness” considering they have moved all over the world. Or maybe when its the English/Europeans moving, its called finding new frontiers whereas when its Xhosa’s its running away from Zulu impi’s, Wow!!, profound stuff!!!
25 Oct 2010, 18:04 pm
112. kevin w(kevin w):
go read xhosakid’s #100 again then you will understand why i think the dolphins have been “transformed” for years.
i.e. nobody questions the selections and everybody in kzn supports the team.
25 Oct 2010, 18:05 pm
116. KEVIN W(KEVIN W): Why Verwoerd as a role model when asking about the meaning of transformation?
Can you explain or define transformation or is this an “all pervading orhtodoxy” – a general tacit agreement not to discuss some large and uncomfortable fact…
Apartheid was defined, practiced and found tragically wanting…
Is transformation in the same circle?
25 Oct 2010, 18:07 pm
115. XHOSAKID(XHOSAKID): …. still no explanation of “Transformation”…?
I ask you now because “Transie” has evaded the question.
What is transformation especially in the context of rugby…?
I won’t hold my breath…
Stalinists and their useful liberal idiots like Kevin W on the other side of the telephone…
25 Oct 2010, 18:09 pm
119 I mention “circle” because liberal heroes like Stalin say that “Transformation” is “movement in a circle”…
25 Oct 2010, 18:10 pm
Heavens Game @ 120
Please read my post, number 100, then ask again if you still dont my explanation.
25 Oct 2010, 18:10 pm
@116 Heaven
listen mate, i disappoint myself every time i get drawn into a debate with someone like you.
Go and be holier than thou or whatever you still consider yourself to be. Again its been drawn away from the fact that EP rugby is on the rise, win or lose this weekend.
I’m proud and have no doubt that the right resources and management will see a strong franchise for the Eastern Cape and I believe it is the team that will develop black talent.
transformation is nothing other than change for the better … how you go about it can be challenging. So i don’t need google to come up with an opinion.
Enjoy the rugby mate.
25 Oct 2010, 18:13 pm
113. HEAVENS GAME(HEAVENS GAME): Orwell was referring to you and charo’s tacit agreement not to discuss the exclusion of blacks in most sports when you guys grew up!
strange how you are so in defence of that engineered status quo! 
25 Oct 2010, 18:16 pm
People who think EP rugby must transform overnight and be completely black to be able to have their place in rugby are as friggin thick and so full of their own importance as Mugabe and Malema who believe in the same approach for land grabs and taking over businesses.
25 Oct 2010, 18:16 pm
115. XHOSAKID(XHOSAKID): Explain the irony…? You will probably mention something to do with Apartheid…
My assumption then is that “Transformation” = redress of the effects of Apartheid…
And if so, how is the redress:
-accomplished in operational terms i.e. practicalities?
- how do you determine whether this redress is occurring?
- how do you know whether this redress has been accomplished?
Transformation = redress = social justice…?
How? Especially in the context of Rugby…
(Which then relates to my comments on EP – I don’t see redress in the form of a Samoan and a lighter hued team than the Pumas…)
Curious…
25 Oct 2010, 18:19 pm
124. TRANSFORMATION(TRANSFORMATION): Avoidance… see post 126. And I ask again What is Transformation and how is Transformation accomplished….?
But I think you will evade and mention apartheid….
I don’t know why?
25 Oct 2010, 18:21 pm
125. kevin w(kevin w):
mugabe is a cuckold.
but careful, you might annoy transie…
he still buys nestle products
8)
25 Oct 2010, 18:21 pm
119. HEAVENS GAME(HEAVENS GAME): there’s nothing ‘uncomfortable’ about the fact that rugby in south africa had to be transformed from the ‘white’s only’ sport or bastion/expression of afrikaner nationalism & manhood! Ask alan solomons if he is ‘uncomfortable’ with transformation, and while you’re at it call the ceo of saru and ask him if he is also ‘uncomfortable’ with transformation…
Only anal pessimists like yourself & charo from the last outpost are ostensibly unnerved by transformation
25 Oct 2010, 18:26 pm
128. CHARO – THE WP GIANT(CHARO): yeah i still by nestle products like you still buy chinese goods
25 Oct 2010, 18:28 pm
128. Charo
I’d prefer if you actually commented on the statement … the fact that your approach to being all black immediately instead of a prolonged process of controlled change is similar to the mentality around mugabe and malema who want things to be black overnight. Do you support that way of thinking?
25 Oct 2010, 18:30 pm
123. KEVIN W(KEVIN W): Why am I holier than thou when I ask what Transformation is.
Do you accept your complicity as a white person who benefitted disproportionately from Apartheid…?
Who is holier than thou here…?
25 Oct 2010, 18:34 pm
Transformation is a process of change for the better.
And i believe a strong representative team will be good for the region, the country and the game. No other region has been able to do that.
Feel free to disagree or google a quote or whatever makes you look so blerrie klever
25 Oct 2010, 18:34 pm
Transie?? What’s this I hear about you buying Nestle????
Get with the program man……. 
25 Oct 2010, 18:38 pm
It’s because I’m white, isn’t it??
25 Oct 2010, 18:39 pm
129. TRANSFORMATION(TRANSFORMATION): “rugby in south africa had to be transformed from the ‘white’s only’ sport or bastion/expression of afrikaner nationalism & manhood” – so with that past tense “had” are you saying that transformation has taken place? How did this take place? Is transformation of rugby finished, then? If not, when will it be finished…? Will transformation ever be finished or is everyhting continually transforming re Stalins quote above…
I am not “unnerved” about transformation – How could I be if it is the indefinable object of faith, like it seems…
You still have not told me what you mean my transformation or what it is: The only answer I have got is from a witou Kevin W telling me that transformation is “nothing other than change for the better”… What “change” and what “better”…?
25 Oct 2010, 18:40 pm
131. KEVIN W(KEVIN W): What do you mean by “who want things to be black overnight”…
What “things” and “to be black” means what?
25 Oct 2010, 18:44 pm
131. kevin w(kevin w):
when did i say that i wanted everything black right now?
sheet…this is getting confusing.
on the left of me i have transie saying i am a relic of the bad old days because i want him to define “transformation”
and on the right i have kevvie going on about me wanting everything black now, now ,now.
as they say in the classics……
eish
25 Oct 2010, 18:46 pm
So transformation is:
“everyone has the same chance of playing, therefore the team is selected purely on ability and form.”
How do you determine whether or when “everyone has the same chance of playing”?
What do you mean by “everyone”…?
Practicalities please, not nebulous obfuscations…
25 Oct 2010, 18:49 pm
134. STORMERSBOY(STORMERSBOY): Its a practicality… who cares where it comes from and how it was produced if you like the product… Its “transformation” in a way? Maybe Nestle is fully “transformed”…?
25 Oct 2010, 18:53 pm
136. HEAVENS GAME(HEAVENS GAME): use your own freaking mind, why would the sponsor of the Currie Cup be concerned with the pace of transformation if it was complete?
Your words betray your trepidation with this change.
and if you don’t know, now you know n*gga 
25 Oct 2010, 18:54 pm
Post 139 was meant for Xhosakid post 120…
Talking about tribes I see you find some sort of relevance by using a nic containing “Xhosa”… Nothing “tribal” I presume?
25 Oct 2010, 18:58 pm
141. TRANSFORMATION(TRANSFORMATION): I am not asking why… I asked what is transformation and how is transformation accomplished?
Still no answer…?
How could I have “trepidation” and why would I have “trepidation”?
25 Oct 2010, 19:04 pm
143. HEAVENS GAME(HEAVENS GAME): to paraphrase: transformation is the restoration of order where there was disorder, the changing of prevailing mindsets re coaching, development, playing, administration of south african rugby..
25 Oct 2010, 19:04 pm
141. TRANSFORMATION(TRANSFORMATION):Also re “pace of transformation”…
How do you determine a faster or slower pace of transformation if you don’t know what it is…?
So do you think Maria Ramos and Fatty von Zeuner know the answers…? (A couple of witous?)
Who determines transformation then? Just powerful witou executives of companies established by Apartheid?
So it is the same circle Witous –> Apartheid –> Transformation —> Witous…? Doesn’t seem representative, this “transformation”?
25 Oct 2010, 19:07 pm
It’s been my experience that on this site, people are not really interrested in adapting to another’s point of view. So basically just agruing at each other from accross the fence
25 Oct 2010, 19:08 pm
144. TRANSFORMATION(TRANSFORMATION): so when you transform, you restore order…
Okay lets take an example using that definition:
- You say the Bulls are not “transformed” which means they are in “disorder”…
How would you transform the Bulls to be more “ordered” or “orderly”??
25 Oct 2010, 19:11 pm
146. STORMERSBOY(STORMERSBOY):”adapting to another,s point of view”…
Adapting = transforming?
Adapting can also mean being compliant and wishy-washy…?
25 Oct 2010, 19:14 pm
145. HEAVENS GAME(HEAVENS GAME): what is the fixation with race? So what if maria ramos is a ‘witou’ as you call her? Can she not contribute in the transformation of the many aspects of our country because she’s white? Stay in England HG, we don’t need your kak
and Charo should remain in Ghana with those subservient natives he loves so much 
25 Oct 2010, 19:32 pm
Its not a “fixation”, just an observation about the colour of their skins – not race per se?… expecially since both executives seem to have a stake in the “pace of transformation” in rugby… It may be irrelevant if transformation has nothing to do with race?
Which leads me to another question in my seemingly circular quest to find out what transformation is, how it is applied and how is it accomplished.
Does transformation not have anything to do with race?
Does transformation not have anything to do with colour?
However those questions assume that transformation is defined and yes you seemingly have defined it by stating it is order from disorder…
Another application of your definition: Was PdV appointed on the basis of transforming bok rugby? If so, is Bok rugby now more “ordered” by your definition of transformation?
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