Lions set for chop?
11 May 2012
Saru has confirmed its plan to relegate the last-placed South African franchise at the end of the season.
This proposed solution was made by Saru’s executive council at its special general meeting in January. The top four teams on the SA conference log would therefore join the Kings in 2013. As it stands, the Lions would drop out.
Saru said a promotion-relegation play-off would then take place after the 2013 and 2014 campaigns.
However, the franchises requested that a decision on the mechanism of qualification be postponed to allow them time to make alternative proposals. The officials at the general meeting accepted the request. Saru CEO Jurie Roux asked for it to be recorded that this delay was at the franchises’ request, therefore precluding the franchises from criticism of late decision-making.
A final decision will be made after meetings with the SA Super Rugby franchises on 17 May, the Saru executive committee on 24 May and the Saru general council on 13 July (21 rounds into the 2012 Super Rugby tournament).
‘Rugby has been consistently united in supporting the Kings’ place in Super Rugby in 2013,’ said Roux. ‘Our focus has been on finding a rugby answer to the questions that flow from that that’s fair, transparent in its mechanism and will strengthen South African rugby in the long run. Those discussions continue.
‘Until a final decision is reached, the franchises and the Saru presidency are agreed that it would be unhelpful to the competing teams to publicly debate the pros and cons of different scenarios. When a decision is announced we will be able to report back to rugby supporters in full.’
305 Comments
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11 May 2012, 08:05 am
This will be the end of these Dragons if it’s true.
11 May 2012, 08:05 am
Bye-bye Lions.
Welcome to the Bulls Elton!
11 May 2012, 08:06 am
not a bad cut & paste job….
11 May 2012, 08:07 am
@Taahirah(Taahirah)-2: you talking of maaaaaaaaaybe Vodacom cup?
11 May 2012, 08:12 am
@Staal(Staal)-4: lol. I know you dont rate him. What you think of his younger brother?
And which Lion players, if any, would you welcome into the Bulls fold?
11 May 2012, 08:16 am
as they say…
If you want to succeed in politics you must keep your conscience well under control…
imo this is all politics and Zero to do with rugby…
we can honestly only have maybe 4 S15 teams and compete… maybe….
11 May 2012, 08:17 am
I predict a riot.
SARU be prepared to open your wallets and purses because the Lions are going to come at ya for loss of revenue and, well, being a bunch of douche bags basically.
Not that I care either way.
GO SHARKS!
11 May 2012, 08:18 am
If there is a promotion/relegation playoff the Lions will only be out for one season. After that the Kings will probably just keep losing playoffs and the status quo is unlikely to change unless the Superugby format changes.
11 May 2012, 08:19 am
@Taahirah(Taahirah)-5: Elton = turnstile with a bad heirdo… imo.
Brother = average…imo.
Lions? I rate quite a few of the younger guys and imo Mitchell is doing a great job although they are getting klapped. I mean they have now got 7gazillllion locks injured!
Naw i rate Mitchell.
11 May 2012, 08:21 am
@Taahirah(Taahirah)-5:
his baby boet should not be playing rugby, because i dont he is really a rugby player. i think he is following his fathers heart and not his own. have watched him enough in vodacom cup to think this is the case.
elton can be better than he is now perhaps but i dont think he will ever supersede lambie, goosen, morne or fouche.
11 May 2012, 08:22 am
Mmmm wouldnt mind braaing chops tonite.
11 May 2012, 08:22 am
@Taahirah(Taahirah)-2: Hulle gaan hom bliksem in Hatfield met daai hairdo……
11 May 2012, 08:24 am
i’ll rather have a massive player base (3xS15 teams)and win the S15 more times than have 5xS15 teams with a win “now & then”
Less S15 games, more longer tours…. but ya i know it’s all dreams.
11 May 2012, 08:27 am
@KWAGGA ROBERTSE(KWAGGA ROBERTSE)-12:
He does live in Pretoria at the moment though. Valhalla. Dont know whether he ever frequents Hatfield.
11 May 2012, 08:27 am
Ok. So lets say this happens and Lions fall out. Kings WILL get moered next year.
Then after that they will play relegation matches against the Lions. Lions gets back into Super Rugby, Kings are out! So all this politics just to have the Kings play one season.
What a waste of time and money!!!
11 May 2012, 08:28 am
@Staal(Staal)-13: Stem staal. Hierdie hele uitgerekte ding het meer die trefkrag soos n S12 gehad het nie. Krag teen krag elke naweek. Die conference ding is ook sommer n klomp rubbish.
11 May 2012, 08:29 am
So we are going to have 5 super rugby teams next year, 3 of which will be coached by kiwis!
11 May 2012, 08:30 am
Very unfair. Its not as if teams were given warning of this a year or 2 ago. I can’t bring myself to be supportive of the kings.
11 May 2012, 08:31 am
@Sasuke(Sasuke)-11:
fark yes!
11 May 2012, 08:33 am
So SARU excuses themselves by saying that the latest delay was caused by the franchises.
What were they thinking. They told the franchises a month before the competition starts that one of them will not be there next year and they expect the franchises to just accept this and move on.
The franchises are the real money spinners in SA Rugby. They are not the lesser provinces who didn’t really have a choice when SARU chopped the Currie Cup’s numbers and just had to go with it.
I hope the Lions gets the job, but not because I don’t want them in the comp. I just think they have a better chance at taking SARU to the cleaners than the Cheetahs have.
11 May 2012, 08:33 am
Can’t wait for the Kings’ frst match against the Saders!!! I predict 3 digit scores next year
11 May 2012, 08:34 am
*job = chop
11 May 2012, 08:35 am
15@ Chris….. I think you have a good point there.
11 May 2012, 08:37 am
@Chris4Lions(Chris4Lions)-15:
no, the point is for your teams to fight harder to prove you deserve participation…every season…
we are tired of the free lunch spread you put on for the kiwis year after year.
11 May 2012, 08:37 am
Lions to get chop? And its not their f*****n fire-skin! SARU must get ready for a lengthy court-battle over lost revenues…
11 May 2012, 08:39 am
Interresting. I read this on News 24 earlier this morning. So if that’s the case and the Lions get the chop, do they actually have a case against SARU?
From all I’ve read the Super Rugby contacts all expire at the end of this year and SARU is under no contractual obligation to renew specifically with the GLRU.
This has gone on for the year so the Lions can hardly say that there hasn’t been a consultative process.
“Jurie Roux asked for it to be recorded that this delay was at the franchises’ request, therefore precluding the franchises from criticism of late decision-making.”
That’s legalese for CYA. Big time.
What they should also have recorded was that the whole process was agreed upon based on the premise that there would be an additional team, not that someone would have to be relegated. There’s no way that the Cheetahs and Lions (the only real candidates for relegation at the beginning of the season) would have voted for that if they were going to be in the relegation firing line.
That, if anything, is the most likely basis for court action at a later stage if you ask me.
Makes no difference though.
In the words of the great Status Quo:
Get down deeper and down
Down down deeper and down
Down down deeper and down
Get down deeper and down
I want all the world to see
To see you’re laughing
And you’re laughing at me
I can take it all from you
Again again again again again again again
Deeper and down
Down down deeper and down
Down down deeper and down
Down down deeper and down
Get down deeper and down
I have all the ways you see
To keep you guessing
Stop your messing with me
You’ll be back to find your way
Again again again again again again again
Deeper and down
Down down deeper and down
Down down deeper and down
Down down deeper and down
Get down
11 May 2012, 08:39 am
@Vegas(Vegas)-21: Does Superbru make provision for three digit scores……..They better sort it out……
11 May 2012, 08:40 am
@PieterJordaan(PieterJordaan)-25: I see you watched Snatch!!!
11 May 2012, 08:42 am
@PieterJordaan(PieterJordaan)-25: fore-skin..
11 May 2012, 08:43 am
@KWAGGA ROBERTSE(KWAGGA ROBERTSE)-28: And you know it!! thought about it when I saw the heading. You know why they call him franky four fingers…?
11 May 2012, 08:48 am
@PieterJordaan(PieterJordaan)-30: Classic movie that one!! Lock stock and two smoking barrels, throw in a bit of Tarentino and you got a serias big movie night.
11 May 2012, 08:50 am
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-26:
well thats pretty much it then.
besides, its not as iff they dont deserve it.
i dont believe the kings do, but neither do they.
11 May 2012, 08:50 am
A question mark at the end of the title.
SARUs “proposed” solution revealed.
Watson rejecting a playing a promotion relegation match end of 2013 season.
Franchises telling SARU to get stuffed.
Weee dwarf man spinning like crazy.
Interesting indeed!
11 May 2012, 08:50 am
Hehe. Politics indeed. Typical top management decision to throw the problem to the franchises and ‘wash their hands’ of anything.
I expect the Lions will now start a media campaign to get public sympathy… all typical politics.
11 May 2012, 08:53 am
@RL(RL)-33:
not so confident anymore?
11 May 2012, 08:53 am
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-32: Ja looks like it hey?
As you say. the Kings don’t deserve it either.
11 May 2012, 08:56 am
This is going to affect the Bulls extremely negatively!
Our Super Rugby record winning margin of 92-3 is going to be broken!
Thankfully, our record winning margin in a final will be safe, as these Kings won’t smell second last spot in the comp, nevermind ever getting a chance to lose by a record margin in a final..
11 May 2012, 09:01 am
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-37: Well your team will have a crack at beating it.
11 May 2012, 09:01 am
Good news for the South African teams next year. This means 10 points they don’t even have to break sweat for!
11 May 2012, 09:01 am
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-38:
True. Never thought of that.
11 May 2012, 09:04 am
Cheetahs could do well by securing 2or 3 good lions players for next season – not Mapoe thou -good player -too much bad history and injuries .
Mabe that big you g lock that rattled Ashley’s cage a bit .
Feel sorry for the lions thou
11 May 2012, 09:05 am
As I’ve said before, as much as this sucks for the Lions and I disagree with the whole thing, this is actually good news for the other 4 SA teams in the Comp for next year, as they will be practically guaranteed a 10 point haul (home and away) against the Kings, something that the lions have never guaranteed (at least not against local teams, overseas teams is another matter entirely).
The fact that the Lions love to roll over and play dead for the Australasians on a regular basis and then suddenly wake up and do something stupid at the end of the season like beat a fancied local team to deny them home ground advantage in the playoffs or something like that is enough reason to boot them from the competition alone.
Bladdy agents.
11 May 2012, 09:06 am
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-32: talking like a true Keo supporter…
11 May 2012, 09:07 am
This entire situation can be solved with money.
If the Lions get compensated for not participating in the Super 15 – say with a R15m payout or something, then they can retain their players, and just loan them out to other franchises during the S15 – thus giving the players the Super Rugby exposure they will require.
Then, when it comes to promotion relegation play-off time, they get all their players back and smack the Kings six love, and they’re back in the comp in 2014.
Then the Kings get compensation to do the same in the year that they’re out, and try their luck at promotion relegation again for 2015.
Bottomline is, if SARU want the Kings in, they got to pay the team that has to sit out. Nothing is for free in this world.
11 May 2012, 09:08 am
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-37: Come on, PE is like traveling overseas for the Bulls. And we all know what that entails.
11 May 2012, 09:09 am
Interesting times
Wonder how Cheeky Watson manages to pull strings at SARU
11 May 2012, 09:10 am
Maybe this is all a blessing in disguis for the Lions.
I will admit that we have been playing kak rugby for the last 10 years, so if a team must be relegated it then it must be the Lions. (Feels kak saying that)
The Lions can now build on the future and take nothing for granted. The previous management were apaling. Coaches were Ludeke, Eloff – They couldnt do anything worth remembering. The blame has to be with the management. Why did the Lions not keep theyre good contracted players? Why didnt they sign star players? Everyone knows that average players will get you only that far. hence the reason that there is almost no springboks in the Lions squad. If a team cant develop/retain Springbok quality players then you wont survive against other teams.
The Lions has been scrapping above theyre weight for many years now. The cc last year was just a fluke to get our hopes high, but alas after this years performances so far, the Lions are dying a slow death.
Lions has an excellent coach in Mitchell, new management. All we need now are some new sponsers willing to fight it out and get some exciting players onboard. So come 2013, rebuild the team and come back in 2014 as title contenders
11 May 2012, 09:10 am
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-42:
As much as it’s always “Bulls first” for me, I totally disagree with your approach in this case.
If the Big 5 don’t stay united on this issue, what’s to stop SARU using similar authoritarian methods against the Bulls in future, or the Stormers?
It reminds me of that old story where the guy says when they came to take all the Gypsies away, he said nothing. When they came to take all the Jews away, he said nothing. When they came to take all the intellectuals away, he said nothing.
Then when they came to take him away, there was no one left to say anything.
Point is, once SARU succeed in isolating one of the Big 5, they have won. And will be able to win again in future.
11 May 2012, 09:11 am
@>^..^< katman(katman)-45:
There are more Bulls supporters in PE than Kings supporters.
11 May 2012, 09:11 am
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-49:
Unless you include those bused in from the Township with freebie tickets.
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