.
Complete Pipe dream, this will be a flash in the pan.

Next year the Sharks and bulls will buy all your good players and they will leave.

I guess, Brayn Habana, Jacque Fourie, Heinke vd Merwe, Brian Mujati, Joe van Nierkerk, Schalk Brits, Willem Alberts, Jean Deysel, Louis Ludick didn’t wanna die in the shithole that is Joburg? Is that why they left? Or is it that they didn’t wanna be associated with a kak franchise? Most recently, Josh Strauss, Paul Willemse, Michael Rhodes, Pat Cilliers, possibly Jaco Taute, Lionel Mapoe, Elton Jantjies didn’t like life in Joburg? Hence they have left or might leave… Nee boet, it’s simple, no SR equals player exodus….

The Lions’ achievements over the last 100 years have got nothing to do with next season’s SR. And please don’t make me repeat what I’ve already said.

You run off names of players who where born in EC or where schooled there, it means sweet fanny adams as long as EC is a sht hole nobody will want to die there.

Shared CC makes for fantastic trophy cabinet !!!

What do titles won in the last 100 years have to do with SR? The Lions won the CC last year, yet they’ve only won 6 games out of 32 in the last two seasons of SR, with essentially the same squad….

Bottom line is that they are a kak SR franchise and they have been since SA was allowed to field five teams in the competition. They’ve done this whilst fielding least number of black players of any franchise. Have you seen their starting line-ups for the last two weeks?

By the way, if the King/Spears had been awarded SR status, as they should’ve been in 2005, they might have been in better placed to negotiate with the following players:

Keegan Daniel, Ryan Kankowski, Steven Sykes, Nikolai Blignaut, Jacques Potgieter, Luvuyiso Lusaseni, Siyabulela Mdaka, Lubabalo Mthembu, Sisa Mafu, Dewald Potgieter, Bandise Maku, Lubabalo Gwavu, Siya Kolisi, Davon Raubenheimer….. Zane Kirchner, Bjorn Basson, Lwazi Mvovo, Luzuko Vulindlu, Sbusiso Sithole, Luvuyo Mhlobiso, Yondela Stampu, Simpiwe Mtimkulu, Tim Whitehead, JJ Engelbrecht, Paul Jordaan…. Some of the black names yo won’t recognise, but some were baby boks and schoolboy stars who went to different provinces, starred in their age group teams but, for one reason or another, were never quite afforded the same opportunities as some of their peers.

Consider this… between 2005 and 2007 the Cheetahs won 2 titles and shared 1. In the same period 2006 to 2008, they P 39, W 10, D 1, L 28, SR games. In fact, despite being a very good CC side over the last ten years, they’ve never won more than 5 games in a season of SR.

And to answer your question…. Border shared two CC’s with WP in 1932 and 1934

THE KEO CONNECTION

Highbury Safika Media (HSM) is a publishing house boasting a portfolio of over 30 magazine titles and numerous online publications. Amongst these are SA Rugby Magazine and Keo.co.za – the website of Mark Keohane and other SA Rugby writers such as Ryan Vrede and Jon Cardinelli.

Keohane has been a public figure since his days as Springbok Communications Manager under the ill-fated reigns of both Harry Viljoen and Rudolph Streauli, until he resigned in protest over SARFU’s handling of the Geo Cronjé racism debacle involving Quinton Davids. Keohane went on to publish a book about the episode and the state of the Springboks in general, and was widely criticized by Springbok players (most notably Corné Krige) as deliberately attempting to sow division within their ranks and to undermine SA Rugby in general.

In recent times Keohane has been busying himself in the extensive business interests of HSM, as well as media relations of other entities, such as Jake White’s Winning Ways – a business partnership which ended in a heated law suit, kept hushed away out of the public sphere. Even more recently, however, HSM -and Mark Keohane in particular – were awarded the contract to manage the media, marketing and public relations of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC). The awarding of this contract was never put up for tender, as is standard government procedure, but was rather awarded directly to HSM (although Keohane states that normal application took place, the fact remains it should have gone to tender).

And this is where the Keo connection begins to reveal itself.

During his time at SA Rugby, Mark Keohane worked alongside the likes of Rian Oberholzer (President of SARFU), Songezo Nayo (Managing Director), Gary Grant (Marketing Director) and the current president of SASCOC – Gideon Sam (Springbok Team Manager).

All four names mentioned above are currently directors of sports marketing company Accelerate Sports, with Gideon Sam being appointed as Chairman. Gideon Sam also serves on the Lotto Distribution Board, but excused himself when dealing with the funding grant to SA Cycling, a grant from which Accelerate Sport received commission to the tune of R 26 million – a blatant conflict of interest.

Accelerate Sport, through their subsidiary Access Facilities and Leisure Management (AFLM), were also awarded the contract as operations manager of the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. It is reported that this contract brings in a whopping R 600 000 a month to the coffers of Accelerate. It is the duty of AFLM to source events to be staged at the stadium to generate revenue and keep the stadium sustainable.

And here the connection between rugby and Accelerate begins to become clear.

The contract between AFLM and the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro states that, above the R 600 000 a month, AFLM are to be awarded performance bonuses based on the revenue they generate, providing this amount exceeds R 12,5 million a year. The structure of this bonus is as follows:

The Operator will be paid 10% of any amount above R12.5 million but less than R15 million, and then:

• 12.5% of any amount in excess of R15 million but less than R20 million;

• 15% of any amount in excess of R20 million but less than R25 million; and

• 20% of any amount in excess of R25 million.

It is thus blatantly clear that it is in the best interests of Accelerate to find events which will draw spectators, such as concerts etc.

But what better way to ensure constant revenue, week after week, than playing host to a top tier sports team. If only the Eastern Cape had one.

But wait, Accelerate have strong ties to SARU, they do after all boast an ex-president in their ranks. Would it at this point seem ludicrous to suggest that Oberholzer, Sam, Grant and Nayo used their previous connections to SARU to, excuse the pun, accelerate the Kings’ inclusion in Super Rugby so as to ensure that their business interest was being looked after, leading to SARU’s shock announcement at the Heyneke Meyer press conference about the Kings’ guaranteed inclusion in Super Rugby for 2013? Surely not.

So where does Mark Keohane fit into all this?

Keohane has recently stepped up his anti – Lions rhetoric in his articles, and while not directly naming the Kings in his most recent one, it is clear where his views emanate from. The vested interest he has in servicing his ex-colleagues at SARU (SASCOC contracts etc.) has clearly skewed the views of an already overly opinionated man.

But wait, there’s more.

After the establishment of the Kings, the son of Cheeky Watson – president of the Eastern Province Rugby Union (under which the Kings operate) – Luke, was brought back from Bath to play for the Kings. In May 2011 HSM (with Mark Keohane again at the forefront) announced that it had decided to enter into the field of player management, a first for the publishing company. Furthermore it was announced that their first client would be none other than Luke Watson. Queue the Mark Keohane propaganda machine.

The cover of the very next SA Rugby magazine was adorned by – yes, you guessed it – Luke Watson, with the rather flattering caption “Return of the King”. This was to be only the start of the Keohane marketing hype surrounding Watson and the Kings.

At the same press conference where SARU dropped the Kings bombshell on an unsuspecting audience, Ryan Vrede, a HSM journalist, asked Heyneke Meyer if Luke Watson – a player languishing in the second tier of SA Rugby and who hasn’t been in Bok contention since mid-2008 – was a contender for the position of Springbok captain. These blatant attempts by Keohane to force the name of Luke Watson into mainstream media while he has done nothing to get it there serves to illustrate the hidden agenda and inherent corrupt nature of a man who has lived off the rise and fall of others for far too long.

Not only has the media machine being rolling for Luke Watson, but others being managed under yet another Accelerate Sport company – In-Site Athlete Management – have been enjoying a rise in publicity in SA Rugby magazine as well. Willem Alberts received some ego stroking in May 2011, as did another In-Site managed player -Joe van Niekerk – in March 2012, with the article stating that he is playing the best rugby of his career at Toulon. Buttering him up for a big money move back to SA perhaps?

It is clear that Keo’s connection into Accelerate stretches deep, with an “I’ll scratch your back you scratch mine” policy which benefits both sides. Gideon Sam made sure he looked after Mark with the awarding of the SASCOC account, Mark in turn ensures that the business interests of Accelerate Sport and its stakeholders remains in the mainstream media, and they all walk away happy.

The reason why Keo has gone on a Lions bashing campaign of late should come as no surprise when taking the above into account. Mark Keohane is no longer a journalist; he hasn’t been for quite a while. He is a businessman with a platform to promote his interests and those of others close to him, a platform which he uses selflessly and without shame.

He is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He is the worm in the apple, and the rot starts with him.

Controversial insurance giant
AIG will sponsor the All Blacks
until at least early 2018, in a
deal which includes having its
logo across the front of the
black jersey.

AIG was bailed out by the US government to the tune of
$182 billion in 2008, one of the
biggest failures of the global
financial crisis.

While the company has since
recovered somewhat, and is
buying back its stock from the
US Treasury, there is still
concern the company’s
underlying businesses are still
struggling, according to
Businessweek.

it is no coincidence that in 2006 & now in 2012 the same franchise is still faced with relegation but the difference this time is the Hoskins has NO f.cking room to be corrupt & buy shares in the Kings will the sole purpose of DESTROYING them & allow the Lions to continue their mediocrity uninterrupted.

They’re not that fond of lamb over here, I don’t know why

A friend of mine in the US said during WWII the Army ran out of meat and started buying lamb and mutton from American farmers, and the guys sold all they had to them, including old tough ewes.

That combined with Army cooks put a generation or two of Americans off lamb

I have to congratulate you Hurricane, I had the nicest leg of lamb from your part of the country on Monday for Thanksgiving

It came from the New Zealand Lamb Co in Wellington

I know lamb well, used to breed sheep in SA, and this one was as good as any, thanks