Making history
14 Dec 2010
CLINTON VAN DER BERG, writing in SA Rugby magazine, discovers the EP Kings have finally got their act together, on and off the field. Now they want to help change the face of South African rugby.
Forget the 1995 World Cup triumph. Forget the follow-up in 2007. For that matter, forget next year’s big bash too. Forget all the bumph that came before about transformation: quotas, clinics, racial incentives, affirmative action appointments, blahdeblah. When the definitive history of South African rugby is written, 2010 will stand as an epoch-making year.
Rugby’s most transformative act of the past 20 years occurred in Port Elizabeth this year when the Eastern Province Rugby Union finally sorted out its nonsense. Given its squalid history, this was no mean feat.
South African rugby has always lived in its own parallel universe, à la Alice in Wonderland: the pretence that the game was racially inclusive, even when the heartland of black rugby was out on a limb.
It matters because the Eastern Cape is a hotbed of black rugby. It matters because rugby passion is nourished there from a young age, not by made-for-TV clinics, but by a heritage that dates back over 100 years when blacks first played rugby. It matters because there’s nothing fake or contrived about it. The crime, such as it is, is that no one ever took the trouble to include the Eastern Cape in a meaningful way.
In 1995, everyone basked in the rainbow nation’s victory glow, thanks in the main to Nelson Mandela’s magnanimity. Blacks and whites danced in the streets. All was good with the world. But it was a false dawn and the massive goodness was never harnessed, to the eternal shame of the powers-that-were.
EP, meanwhile, limped along. There was fraud, back-stabbing, power-broking and politics. There was even occasionally some rugby, but the narrative was steadfast: exciting players emerged from local schools, only to move to bigger unions. Why should they have stayed?
EP feasted on the scraps. In recent years they flexed their political muscle and demanded a place at the Super Rugby table. ‘Get your act together first,’ Saru correctly demanded.
Cue Cheeky Watson. The maverick businessman was installed as president. Everyone waited for Watson to fail, except they misjudged him on one thing: Watson is a rugby man to the core and his blood runs deep in the region.
Next, Anele Pamba was appointed chief executive. A former prop forward for the African Bombers, he too cared and was known for getting things done.
Act three was to hire top coach Alan Solomons, a stickler for systems and structure. Besides, he was schooled in the region and dared dream of the possibilities.
The EP Kings have finally got their act together, notwithstanding their horrible promotion-relegation second leg blowout against the Pumas, and now have the splendid incentive of Super Rugby in 2013 to work towards.
And we should all applaud, for this is the moment South African rugby has long awaited. Indeed, you would be living in a fool’s paradise if you believed that South African rugby could continue without incorporating the Eastern Cape’s black rugby diamonds. It’s not only right politically and socially. It’s right morally.
To hear how Eastern Province effected the turnaround is to be reminded of the virtues of teamwork, leadership and vision.
To a person, the people SA Rugby magazine spoke to remarked on playing a small part in history, of putting in place something deeply significant for future generations. If that sounds trite, don’t believe it: the potential is massive and could be felt for generations.
Given the history of the region, rugby is unashamedly political and Watson smartly uses this as an asset. On occasion, his voice has boomed at team talks: ‘Recognise that the English fought the Boers. Recognise that the English put the Boers in concentration camps. Recognise that the Boers came up with apartheid. And recognise that the blacks have taken it all back.’
This is a call to arms, not to fight, but rather for the players to recognise one another’s differences.
‘They’ve responded unbelievably,’ says Watson, who has the advantage of having reached this point in his journey via a thousand hurdles. He knows what it takes.
His message was simple: ‘I tell them this is the heart and soul of black rugby in this country and it’s been marginalised – until now. They must look at the number of blacks in former Model C schools who have nowhere to go [rugby-wise]. The white kids typically have a support base, but it’s not the same for black guys, whose mother and father may be factory workers. The answer is a Super Rugby franchise, which is why the EP Kings jersey is more important than any other in the country. This is history we’re talking about and we’re impacting on history.’
Every player and member of management at the Kings has embraced this vision and concept of inclusiveness.
It’s been a tough slog, but structures have been put in place, not least by Solomons, and the fruits of their labour are showing. Quite apart from the reasonable success of the Kings themselves, the union recently received an unqualified financial audit for the first time in 10 years. Twenty-one junior players have received contracts, the first time this has occurred in a decade. To quote Watson: ‘We’re fighting like mad for a Super Rugby franchise.’
Part of this ‘fight’ includes a bid to play the five existing Super Rugby franchises early in 2011, followed by three matches against European clubs and a round of friendly fixtures against Currie Cup teams. Added to this is the exquisite showcase provided by the Tri-Nations Test against the All Blacks in Port Elizabeth next August.
Watson refuses to take the credit, rather pointing to Solomons as the key man. ‘He’s highly intelligent and offers a rugby and legal background, plus a 24/7 work ethic. He is professional to the core and expects the same from all of us.’
Given his experience, with the Springboks and the International Rugby Board, among others, Solomons could have picked any top job. Yet he chose the backwaters of Port Elizabeth. A Grey High old boy, he grew up in Summerstrand. ‘I wanted to be part of something special,’ he says, ‘something that will enrich South African rugby.’
He met with Watson and Pamba and was deeply impressed. ‘Our visions coincided. This is the cradle of black rugby and I realised that having a franchise would give a huge opportunity to the indigenous people. I know Cheeky and Anele will deliver. This will enrich rugby and what we leave behind will be far more important than what we do now.‘
He says his legal background (20 years as a senior partner in a law firm) has given him an ability to analyse, something he has brought to the EP Kings. ‘Cheeky and Anele have been fantastic. All the people in the union are positive and prepared to work hard.’
Solomons’ first step was to settle on his senior management team. Adrian Kennedy, who worked with Solomons at Western Province, the Stormers and Ulster, is on board. So too is Robbie Kempson, the academy manager, and David Maidza, who assisted when the Southern Kings played the British & Irish Lions last year. Phil Mack, the former Western Province and Ulster conditioning coach, signed on in November. It’s a powerful bunch, supplemented by a support staff who all have Solomons’ blessing.
Solomons’ job is two-pronged: to develop the professional squad and to get the academy up and running by 2011. Players have been contracted and no less an icon than Danie Gerber has been visiting schools on behalf of the EP Kings, establishing relations and getting them excited. It all fits in with a stated philosophy of ‘Keep them home and bring them home.’
‘We don’t want guys from outside the region,’ says Solomons. ‘This policy has been hugely positive.’
The move to the magnificent Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium is another fundamental sign of EP’s ambitions. Local totems like Rory Duncan, Mzwandile Stick and Darron Nel were all brought back. ‘Everybody has worked flat out,’ says Solomons proudly. ‘I love it, it’s a great working environment and Cheeky and Anele have been bloody marvellous.’
The Kings even have a travelling fan base, who bus their way to games, as they did to Witbank for the first leg Currie Cup promotion-relegation game. It took them 16 hours. ‘These are black guys and the vibe transcends all communities. Within the team we have English, Afrikaans, Xhosa.’
Says Debbie Ellis, operations manager of the Kings: ‘The brand is growing so quickly, it’s a battle to keep up. It’s the best rugby vibe I’ve experienced in the city in the 15 years I’ve been involved.’
Stick, a Springbok Sevens stalwart, says the key to their success has been the broad interest in the team rather than politics. ‘We’re the most multiracial team in the country. I left sevens to come here to be a part of history. Most thought we’d get a hiding against the Pumas, but it never happened. This team is on the up.’
If the team has come to the party, so have the chiefs. Says Pamba: ‘It all changed with Solly’s arrival. The greatest thing was the executive giving Cheeky and I the mandate to put structures in place. They call us the 
Three Musketeers.?Beating the Pumas and gaining promotion was in all our dreams. Solly was especially emotional after failing to do so. But people realise there’s a golden opportunity to be in the headlines again, but for the right reasons – rugby reasons.’
EP’s emergence is more than a little town triumph. It is a triumph for us all.
– This first appeared in the December issue of SA Rugby magazine.
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95 Comments
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14 Dec 2010, 06:11 am
They haven’t “got their act together”. Haven’t won a thing. Haven’t even been a threat to any team on the lower end of the serious rugby competitions.
They are dead men walking in any heavy-duty rugby championship.
Easybeats from the Eastern Cape.
14 Dec 2010, 06:39 am
some good people working with watson down there in pe.keep up the good work!
14 Dec 2010, 07:28 am
Please correct me if I am wrong, but how can the EP Kings(government) claim that this is the biggest population of black rugby players in the country and then they import whites for the Kings. Watson, Franklin, Uys, Engels etc. It just doesn’t make sense then the team is gonna be all whites and just a few blacks in the side
14 Dec 2010, 07:36 am
And the beat goes on…
14 Dec 2010, 08:03 am
and now they have a truly inspirational on field leader in LW who will thrive on this kind of challenge…..fantastic stuff….
14 Dec 2010, 08:17 am
Just heard the news about Jinx.
A real bummer as he truly was a good guy. Does anyone have the funeral details, as I think those of us in Cape Town need to make an effort to get there and celebrate his life with a cold one afterwards
14 Dec 2010, 08:29 am
I am very happy for the EC region that they are getting their act together but, frankly, the mess was their own doing in the first place so I am not about to cream my panties just because they finally stopped ******** the pooch.
That’s a bit like rewarding a kid who finally learns not to stick his finger in a plug.
Anyway, best wishes to them, hopefully they can get on with the game of rugby, and leave politics where it belongs – in a dumpster.
14 Dec 2010, 08:41 am
Solomons talks of guys they brought back…Nel, Duncan and Stick.
No-one mentions the other local boys that were brought back from overseas countries and other provinces: some signed 2 year contracts on foreign soil, returned and contracts were cancelled after two months; others were drafted from other provinces and then ignored on arrival.
I am not convinced of Pamba and Watson’s intentions. They have done well to create a brand, not sure that their modus operandi is always honourable.
14 Dec 2010, 08:41 am
@Bod : Hey Bod. It’s very sad. He was the soul of this forum when I started blogging here. His bright African shirts and the way you never saw him without a big smile on his face, or breaking into a piece of a song that summed up how he felt. Old Jinx the lynx has left us poorer.
14 Dec 2010, 08:50 am
I wrote a long response to this, but decided to delete it.
Watson. Get over your political agenda. We all want EP to be strong. Everybody does. Just PLAY RUGBY! Forget all the other nonsense. These game you are playing is keeping EP in the dark ages.
14 Dec 2010, 08:54 am
@katman :
Ja its almost surreal, as he was so full of life. Let me know if you pick up on the funeral details…. As I said, lets try and make an effort as well as a little session afterwards
14 Dec 2010, 08:55 am
@Bod : Will do.
14 Dec 2010, 08:59 am
I’m an old Eastern Cape boy myself and would love to see Eastern Province become a competitive force in South African rugby again, but as with the clown that now resides over our Springbok side, this whole push for EP is not being done for rugby reasons and that in fact is wrong and will backfire horribly
14 Dec 2010, 09:12 am
“The crime, such as it is, is that no one ever took the trouble to include the Eastern Cape in a meaningful way….”
Uh, maybe beacause:
..” There was fraud, back-stabbing, power-broking and politics. There was even occasionally some rugby, but the narrative was steadfast: exciting players emerged from local schools, only to move to bigger unions. Why should they have stayed?..”
So it’s partly their own fault really. EP have been a proud union who contributed greats like Hennie Le Roux, Garth Wright, Danie Gerber and many more. They stuffed it up for themselves.
Having said all that, good luck to them, Get the results and the rest will follow.
14 Dec 2010, 09:14 am
What is the going rate for a provincial player in South Africa?
I’d be interested to know, just to compare what Luke is earning during his “career sacrificing” stint in PE to what provincial players earn at the Big Unions.
In fact, I’d even like to compare it to what Top Springboks earn from their provincial contracts. I’d wager that Luke won’t have to stand back in the slightest.
Yip. It certainly helps when daddy can employ you at his family business – for a exorbitant salary to boot.
14 Dec 2010, 09:15 am
@Tacitus : So what is Luke earning? You alluded to it yesterday, but you didn’t actually give an amount. Do you know?
14 Dec 2010, 09:24 am
@TheTackler :
The Easybeats from the Easten Cape, I am sure you will agree, are the rugby equivalent of the cricketing Black Craps.
Now there’s a bunch of easybeats.
You must be moerse embarrassed, Tackles!
Oh I forgot, you support the Aussies in cricket. Oh, that was last year, it’s now the Indians, until…
Happy hopping, fairweather fiend.
14 Dec 2010, 09:25 am
Spill the beans whistleblower…
14 Dec 2010, 09:33 am
@Joe Maher : Are you serious? The guy was born in SA, lives in NZ, supports the AB’S in rugby, and Aus in cricket? Confucius say: man with no roots get blown away.
14 Dec 2010, 09:35 am
@stormersboy :
I’m just asking questions here. Out of curiousity.
So, what does a top provincial player – say a B rate Bok with 1 cap – earn at WP, the Bulls or the Sharks?
More or less?
14 Dec 2010, 09:38 am
Let’s say Keegan Daniel, Duane Vermeulen or Deon Stegman.
What would they earn at their provincial unions? Ballpark.
14 Dec 2010, 09:38 am
About 1 to 1.5 bar.
14 Dec 2010, 09:40 am
@gunther :
That’s very interesting.
Any other suggestions from anyone else?
14 Dec 2010, 09:41 am
It’s not a suggestion.
14 Dec 2010, 09:43 am
The Lions and Cheetahs will be nervous now. One of them is destined to leave the Super 15.
14 Dec 2010, 09:44 am
@gunther :
I appreciate that. I was just trying to establish whether there are any players on this level that might be earning more than that.
And that’s quite a wide range you gave there. Is it 1 bar, or is it 1.5?
I’ll call it 1.25 million then, on average to get a benchmark. Would that be accurate?
14 Dec 2010, 09:46 am
@Tacitus : all this innuendo you’re spewing betrays your bitterness hahaha why are you soooo worried about what luke will earn? of what concern is it to you that you dedicate post daily to unloading your speculative bile?
14 Dec 2010, 09:47 am
@Transformation :
Just comparing apples with apples, dear friend.
14 Dec 2010, 09:48 am
Guther is on the money.
It varies from player to player really. In certain cases the Unions will pay and suppliment the earnings with a “spokesperson” deal with one of the main sponsors if it’s a marquee signing like JDV (Not saying it’s so in his case, just using him as an example). He’ll be quite a bit more expensive than a guy like Peter Grant who’s probably in the range of R1m-R1.5m
If a player is contracted through the Boks then it’s a different story altogether.
A guy like Mapoe should be earning about 750k + incentives, but a guy like Luke will earn significantly more, probably not just because of his playing ability I’m sure. I’d be surprised if he’s under R2m.
14 Dec 2010, 09:49 am
Well a top provincial player is quite a braid range.
It depends on
The union
The age/ experience of the player
The players marketability and profile.
Etc.
14 Dec 2010, 09:53 am
Welcome back our EP brothers. It was always strange watching CC without EP in the game. Lets hope they play the hard brand of rugby they were famous for.
As for the region it is one of the most corrupt in South Africa so maybe thats whats happened to the rugby.
Sorry Tranny but the local governement gets the worst ratings.
What about all the car manufacturers down there, no sponorships???
History will be the final judge in the end but I do think they will succeed!
14 Dec 2010, 09:54 am
Remember a players take home is not just what the union pays.
Remember at the bulls they patched together a while package through sponsorship etc.
This is common with top players.
For the kings Luke is a big name signing.
If he made less then 1.75 I would be amazed.
14 Dec 2010, 09:55 am
Sorry..
As the stormersgoy says.
14 Dec 2010, 09:59 am
@stormersboy :
That’s very interesting. 2 bar, you say?
That when the Bulls were unwilling to offer Habana more than about R2 mil to match the Stormers offer, and when Victor Matfield himself was sitting around R2.2m or thereabouts according to the figures that were bandied about in the media when they brought him back from Toulon?
R2m a reasonable figure. For Luke Watson?
(By the way, I’m not saying he is only on R2m. In fact, I am definitely NOT saying that. But I’m in the process of establishing a reasonable figure for him, in order to demonstrate the magnitude of the premium he might hypothetically be getting above his market rate).
And then, the next step would be to ask the question: How would it sit with stakeholders if Harold Verster’s son, or Tobie Titus’s son or Barend van Graan’s son was paid such a premium to play for their Dad’s union…
See, there is logic in my approach. We’ll get there, eventually.
14 Dec 2010, 09:59 am
@gunther : lol snap there fella
14 Dec 2010, 10:03 am
EP = all sizzle, no steak. Yet again. Seen this movie before.
14 Dec 2010, 10:04 am
Tac
Spit it out.
You know you want to.
14 Dec 2010, 10:05 am
@Tacitus : I see exactly where you are going. I estimated about R2m for Luke for the following reasons:
He had to be on more than that at Bath. He was probably on GBP300k – 400k p.a. minimum.
He is a strong “personality”, for better or worse, and they tend to attract attention and therefore sponsorship.
He’ll probably be their highest profile sponsorship and therefore will probably attract an additional premium.
The question you should ask is “Is Luke worth it??”
I’d be inclined to say no, but then I’m not paying for him. You will be
14 Dec 2010, 10:06 am
@Tacitus : I have a feeling that, after daddy pays Luke (and himself, of course), they’re going to have to fill the rest of the team with affordable day labourers from the surrounding area.
14 Dec 2010, 10:08 am
Katman
That will transform them.
Sharpish.
14 Dec 2010, 10:08 am
@TheTackler :
The reality is that the Kings are selling a half truth to the country.
They are correct in saying that EP has a strong rugby history, and that they are currently way below where they should be.
But then they bring in the lie. EP was relatively strong before, yes, but not because of all these undiscovered black clubs in the valleys of the Ciskei and the Eastern Cape hinterland.
No, it was strong because of a relatively small, but rugby mad community of “harde manne” from Uitenhage, Despatch and the other white communities around PE.
The collapse of EP rugby was perfectly correlated to the ousting of these clubs by the so called “Transformed clubs” in the region.
Since the takeover of Cheeky’s buddies, EP rugby became a laughing stock. And it has remained so ever since.
Now they are resurecting it with the promise of untapping this immense talent in the Ciskei hills, but in truth they are simply stocking the team with players from other unions and even overseas.
And the most ironic of all, these are mostly WHITE players they’re importing.
Hehehe.
14 Dec 2010, 10:10 am
@gunther :
Yes, but I don’t think I will. It’s nice to know things others don’t. And I’m sure it will be common knowledge in the near future.
14 Dec 2010, 10:14 am
@Tacitus : Isn’t Luke an honorary BEE signing?? No one else wants him….
14 Dec 2010, 10:15 am
@Tacitus : there’s no logic in your approach! you don’t know what luke will earn but you’re moving from a premise that there’s some level of impropriety in all of this which is b*llshlt…bitter!
14 Dec 2010, 10:16 am
@Tacitus : 42 I think, Tacitus, that sometimes it’s not so much about “knowing” things that others don’t as much as “saying” things that others don’t.
14 Dec 2010, 10:19 am
@Tacitus : EP and the whole region have ALWAYS been third-rate except for three years in the 1950s when Kenyon skippered Border. EP proper (PE area) have always been rubbish since before the rinderpest even.
14 Dec 2010, 10:19 am
@stormersboy :
True.
14 Dec 2010, 10:19 am
Once again, I feel I must state for the record that I don’t buy this whole messianic bullsh*t of a noble, selfless and courageous WASP leading the dusty, hungry and hopeless natives in their uprising, along with all the adulation and epic theme music that invariably accompanies such a thinly disguised colonialist endeavour. At the end of the day it is Brad Pitt… I mean Luke Watson, whose name rolls up first on the credits, and who has his own trailer on set.
14 Dec 2010, 10:22 am
@TheTackler :
You actually know more about those days than I do. I guess that means you’re quite a bit older than me.
All I know, is that EP was one of the top 6 unions in SA in the 80′s. Today they are well below that standard.
And given PE’s population size, they SHOULD be in the top 6 bracket, without question.
That doesn’t mean that they’re gonna contend with the Bulls for top spot in the next 100 years, of course. But they should without a doubt be better than they have been since the 90′s.
14 Dec 2010, 10:23 am
@katman : worry about what Robert Gumede has planned for the Lions, there’s no messiah complex here, just people doing what they can in a place they care about.
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