Return of the King
17 May 2011
SA Rugby magazine reveals how Luke Watson’s move to the EP Kings transpired and his reasons behind it.
Watson returning was not a predetermined Kings plan. Luke’s decision to go to the Kings was self-made and self-motivated and it had nothing to do with his father, Cheeky, being the president of the EPRFU. The drive to get Luke to Port Elizabeth came from Kings director of rugby and head coach Alan Solomons.
‘He is a brilliant player and those who have played with him speak about his exceptional and inspirational leadership and about his ability to make things happen,’ said Solomons before approaching Luke.
‘I had heard so many good things about Solly’s passion and love for the game that it only made the decision [to join EP] easier,’ says Watson in the latest issue of SA Rugby magazine, which goes on sale this week. ‘Once I met him I felt even more comforted that we shared an idealism for what the Kings should represent and a practicality about what they have to achieve as a team and a region.
‘I am not back in South Africa to prove anything to anyone or to myself. I am in Port Elizabeth to make a contribution, to a team, to a region and ultimately to
a country.’
Also in the new issue:
– Keo on why Rassie Erasmus will benefit from being with the Boks
– Why Francois Hougaard should replace Bryan Habana in the Springbok side
– Jaque Fourie’s communication skills and size set him apart from the rest
– Duane Vermeulen puts fear into opponents’ hearts
– Kieran Read capped off an outstanding 2010 season by being named New Zealand’s Player of the Year, But his sights are set even higher in 2011
– In a year and a half, Reds coach Ewen McKenzie has transformed the Reds from also-rans to Super Rugby title contenders
– Quade Cooper on the Reds’ revival, his attacking innovations, and the battle for the Wallabies No 10 jersey
– The Mobile Eye device has given goal-kickers like James O’Connor a new perspective
– How the University of Cape Town broke their Varsity Cup curse
– Rudi Coetzee has justified Perpignan’s decision to sign him from bankrupt Bourgoin
– Ruan Pienaar’s stint with Ulster has given him a harder edge
Click here to subscribe to print edition
Click here to subscribe to digital edition
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259 Comments
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17 May 2011, 13:06 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-35: Ah great come back line Transie! What is there to be worried about? In pure rugby terms, what do the Kings have to scare me? Man I reckon the Cheetahs Grey schools team would probably smash the Kings Punjab 15!
I guess all you have to hope for is a little bit of affirmative action to somehow get the Kings in Super Rugby, and even then it simply won’t last!! Unless of course they buy the then redundant Cheetahs or Lions players, but not with that rickety bunch, with a loser as their talisman!!
17 May 2011, 13:06 pm
@Dazzler(Dazzler)-195: I met Luke twice….very impressive young man, intense but genuinely a decen guy. Both times I met him he was in the gym with his fellow mates, and the respect the players had for Luke was very obvious to see.
17 May 2011, 13:06 pm
@garth(garth)-172: eish, i saw that comment about Smit having the “x-factor” ad i decided to let it slide.
17 May 2011, 13:09 pm
@Dazzler(Dazzler)-198:
The Options given by you:
A)……… very few.
or
B) ……….none.
I’d say B.
17 May 2011, 13:09 pm
@MacToogie(MacToogie)-199: Not much to say about Plod thses days….seems he is always on bench or injured….
They asked Plum if he would be starting this weekend against Bulls…he replied….’ no…we want our best front row to play this weekend ””
Need i say more?
17 May 2011, 13:11 pm
@grant10(grant10)-202:
I know, I’ve seen the same thing, in his interaction with the players, they all seem to love him. And the I know the guys at Bath were devasted when they found out he was leaving, they really respected him. Even Lewis Moody, the England captain, had very good things to say about him.
17 May 2011, 13:11 pm
G10. is that like cross-country ? Must be uber-fit. Send him over to NZ for the Coast-to-Coast, now those b@stards are tough !
Good stuff.
17 May 2011, 13:13 pm
@grant10(grant10)-205: the great thing though is that JS will captain the Boks at the RWC while Puke sits in PE, best thing ever for SA rugby
17 May 2011, 13:13 pm
@cane(cane)-204:
And I’d agree. And what’s more, i’ll even include myself in that so as not to be a hypocrite. We all say things we regret from time to time…
17 May 2011, 13:14 pm
@Sghibha(Sghibha)-162:
Isn’t it strange finding bloggers that are South African and that have negative views towards the Bok’s RWC winning coach and members of that Bok RWC winning team.
Isn’t it strange….
17 May 2011, 13:16 pm
@Black Panther(Black Panther)-207: yeah….mountain trail running….brilliant athlete….won a couple of big races last 12 months and often top 6 to 10…..the dedication and focus of those athletes are mind blowing….
17 May 2011, 13:18 pm
@MacToogie(MacToogie)-208: LW should prove himself before even talk of playing for boks…..
Seems Plod exempt from this criteria though.
17 May 2011, 13:18 pm
VRRRRRRYSSSSSSTAAAAAAAT!!!!
17 May 2011, 13:22 pm
SHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARKS!!!
17 May 2011, 13:23 pm
BUUUUUULLLLLLLLS!!!
17 May 2011, 13:23 pm
LEEEEEEEEEUS!!!
17 May 2011, 13:23 pm
breezers.
17 May 2011, 13:23 pm
@Cheetah 4 Eva(Cheetah 4 Eva)-201: in pure professional rugby terms the bottom team/s should be outright relegated but in SA they are protected by their gatgabbas…what is the Cheetahs record in Super Rugby since the cats dissolved, are you proud of it?
17 May 2011, 13:28 pm
G10
awesome stuff, yep those guys are mentally-tough, incredible endurance.
You must be rightly very proud. SA surely should produce top athletes in these sports, triathletes etc, certainly have the terrain and conditions to train all year round.
17 May 2011, 13:28 pm
@Dazzler(Dazzler)-209:
You got that right Dazzler.
The people I admire most here on Keo.comedy are those that said…………… Sorry.
Or those that said, hey…………………..I blew my fuse.
or perhaps………………………………….You have a point.
They are few. And I am not one of them.
17 May 2011, 13:30 pm
I see Heavens Game is back!
A few bourbons for lunch HG?
17 May 2011, 13:30 pm
@grant10(grant10)-212: JS proved himself by honoring the Boks for all of his career, LW spat on the Boks, pretty easy choice if you ask me.
17 May 2011, 13:31 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-217: LoL
17 May 2011, 13:35 pm
@MacToogie(MacToogie)-222: okay big mac….lets leave it
17 May 2011, 13:40 pm
@Dazzler(Dazzler)-198:
I talk kak around the braai, around the stove, in the shower, on here, at work – the only time I talk sense is when I shut up!
17 May 2011, 13:44 pm
@grant10(grant10)-224: like i said, i will when you do.
17 May 2011, 13:50 pm
@PissAnt(PissAnt)-225:
Actually PA.
In reality.
In truth.
To be fair.
To be balanced.
and to be without prejudiced.
You conduct yourself with the highest of standards.
The every highest..
17 May 2011, 13:52 pm
@cane(cane)-227:
Thank you sir.
17 May 2011, 13:54 pm
@cane(cane)-227: Gosh! Compliments on Keo! The world really is going to end on Sunday!!!!
17 May 2011, 13:55 pm
Too many of you are on the supposed smart drug adderall here today as you comment on matters you mostly know too little about.
If the supply of your demand for this brain dopamine booster cannot keep up you WILL all resort to the normal dunces you usually are.
Remember too, you are breaking the law consuming it without a legal prescription as it is a schedule II narcotic.
17 May 2011, 13:57 pm
@oscarthedawg(oscarthedawg)-229:
Why are you, of late, encouraging animalistic behaviour among people?
17 May 2011, 14:09 pm
@cane(cane)-196: ha ha no that’s not the case cane, where do you come from?
17 May 2011, 14:29 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-218: Nope Transie, but I understand the economics of it all, and believe me the Kings you so vociferously punt will face the same challenges!! Cheetahs have earned respect, for being worthy contenders despite being cash strapped till now.
Question for you Transie. When the Bulls started out in Super Rugby, were they instant success? No they were whipped roundly for 5 or so years, and that was with way more resources than the Cheetahs. Today they are the only Super Rugby team in SA that can claim to be successful! Give the Cheetahs the same space, and see them compete for higher honours soon! Besides, I reckon if the Cheetahs were given the same opportunities that the Sharks, Stormers, and Bulls had to develop unhindered from the start, you might have a very different picture to the one you are harping on!!
The Cheetahs for that matter have more right to playing Super rugby than the EC any day. They have been the second most successful CC team in the past decade!! The EC haven’t been a force in SA rugby since 1990, and please don’t blame apartheid! Cos in those years the PE boys were a force!!
17 May 2011, 14:32 pm
@ET.(ET.)-230: Hehehe… I feel a storm brewing
17 May 2011, 14:39 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-234:
Missed most of the w-end other than the pure rugby so i will not be too sad wrt a storm!
Opportunity to make up for lost time and the Capies go unnaturally gaga with the topic at hand and now there are 3 threads for them.
Left a question for you on the ‘ambition’ thread.
17 May 2011, 15:33 pm
head to head the cheetahs will slaughter the kings
thats a simple fact, if the kings want to be in the big league they need to up their level of play 10 fold
17 May 2011, 16:31 pm
@Cheetah 4 Eva(Cheetah 4 Eva)-233:
the premise of ur argument is no where. no team should by default have a right of passage in super rugby as u suggest: “The Cheetahs for that matter have more right to playing Super rugby than the EC any day.”
it sould be based on merit… relegate the teams fro super rugby based on currie cup performances. only fair way
17 May 2011, 17:23 pm
@mainland(mainland)-237: Exactly, and if it based on performance, there is no ways the Cheetahs will make way for the kings. If the Kings get promoted at the expense of the Lions it would be a travesty, as the Kings have done nothing to deserve promotion! If the Lions stay, and the Cheetahs get replaced, it would be even more so!!
Just like Natal had to earn the right to play A-Section CC way back then, so too, the Ep or “Kings” or “Dingaan’s Spears” must earn the right!!
Don’t let Transie and his mates dazzle you with their political trash!! EP Kings would be nowhere near a Super competition without some conniving polotician!! That’s a fact!
17 May 2011, 17:40 pm
@Cheetah 4 Eva(Cheetah 4 Eva)-238:
cheers bro… ill try not be dazzled by the ‘conniving polotician’. u should not use so many exclamation marks when making a point though. U trying to dazzle me?
you are missing the boat here though. none of the SA teams have had to play their way into Super rugby. it has been handed to them- it includes the stormers, bulls sharks etc. none of the have, as you state it “earned the right”.
17 May 2011, 19:28 pm
@Cheetah 4 Eva(Cheetah 4 Eva)-238: The hero of your victory over the Crusaders over the weekend, Ashleigh Johnson, was the captain of the Spears.
The last man to lift silverware for the Cheetahs was Rory Duncan … yes that’s Grey PE, not Grey Bloem and we all know where he is now.
For supporters always b!tching about players being taken, you sure have your fair share from the Eastern Cape playing significant roles for the Cheetahs.
And comparing this to the Natal of the 80′s is just plain amateur … literally and figuratively.
17 May 2011, 21:44 pm
cheetah 4 eva: firstly f*ck you for your ‘dazzle with polotical talk’ comment!
2ndly, no south african franchise has EVER qualified to play super rugby, if that was the case, the bulls wouldn’t have had the time to ‘build structures’ they would’ve had to build their structures WITHOUT the money SARU pumps in to them! Plus the sponsors they have to maintain their salary bills would’ve bounced a loooong time ago if the team was relegated!
Where did the Force qualify to play super rugby? And the Rebels?
If the Valke wants to organise themselves and be a Super Rugby franchise, then they should get a crack at it and the least performing team out of the current 5 should make way, f*ck what you’ve won in the last decade.
ALL the unions are affiliated to SARU and it is their responsibility to afford everyone an opportunity to play Super Rugby!
18 May 2011, 05:17 am
The franchises were assembled from a core of WINNING and front-running Currie Cup franchises — NTvl, WP, OFS, Tvl and Natal.
The also-rans and never-beens were left out.
18 May 2011, 07:22 am
The headline of this article can FAR more aptly applied to Dan Cater who has signed FOUR YEAR contract to keep playing his rugby in Christchurch and NZ after the RWC.
18 May 2011, 07:23 am
Dan CARTER, sorry!
18 May 2011, 07:56 am
@TheTackler(TheTackler)-243: well it’s hardly a return if he’s already there, and QF dropouts don’t qualify as kings
18 May 2011, 10:15 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-241: Wake up!!! The valke and every other union are already represented in the S15!?!
Somehow people have forgotten that a few years we clicked that the only option is to create regional teams like the two other countries in this competition.
Regional teams that allows all of our teams to collectively draw from all the talent at our disposal in this country.
If any union that is supposedly outside the current loop, as you seem to see it, has a case for inclusion above the current franchises, it would be Griquas. Best performing union outside the current top five and closest to them in terms of historical success.
Strangely, they’re clever enough to know that that would serve, wait for it, no one……
18 May 2011, 10:21 am
Shame on you Keo, guy cuts you a media deal and you’re promoting him at every turn – on what merit? There are a lot of players that are far more deserving of all the articles dedicated to this rat.
Stop kissing your paycheck’s arse and please get back to what drew people to this website in the first place.
A flood of relevant articles, fresh news and lively debate – not dangling some poster child for winding the SA rugby republic up and insulting them to wangle more and more drivel posts.
18 May 2011, 10:37 am
johnny7: relax buster, that was just an example.
Tell me which Valke player (one who plays for the Valke in the currie cup) do you see in Super Rugby?
18 May 2011, 12:32 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-241: Ha ha, it’s ok thank’s transie, I will pass, I carefully choose my sleeping partners, and quite frankly you don’t make it!! So you can keep your sexual advances to yourself! What you say is true, any franchise can make it into Super Rugby. The Rebels and Force didn’t replace the Waratah’s, Reds or Brumbies. The competition was expanded. I have no problem with the Kings playing in the tournament, as long as they don’t get shoved in at the Lions or cheetahs expense. Earn the right by playing relegation/promotion matches. Or expand the tournament. But why should existing teams make way for the Kings simply because the poloticians reckon the EC is the untapped hotbed of African (read black players) Coloured, and Indian players are not regarded as POC’s
So your little tantrum and swearing at me will not change that! Those are the facts! The issue isn’t the Kings playing Super rugby, it’s the concept of a team weteher it be the Cheetahs, Lions, Bulls, Stormers, or Sharks having to make way for a team, that can’t even win promotion to the Premier division of the CC!!
18 May 2011, 14:08 pm
cheetahs4eva: call it what you want, but inane derisive comments will get that treatment all the time.
If you can’t make a case for your useless administrators – who couldn’t attract sponsors to your brand even after the success in the currie cup ur team had – don’t think being an arsehole on this blog will change that.
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