Kings on the rise
18 Oct 2012
GARETH DUNCAN says the Kings should become a stronger entity than the Cheetahs, no matter what happens in the upcoming Currie Cup promotion-relegation play-offs.
The Free State Cheetahs are expected to beat the EP Kings in the Currie Cup promotion-relegation battle over the next fortnight.
Despite the Kings’ unbeaten run to the First Division title and the Cheetahs’ current injury crisis (a loss of 13 first-choice players, including flyhalf Johan Goosen, flank Heinrich Brussow and prop Coenie Oosthuizen), the Bloemfontein union is still considered favourites as they boast more players with experience of playing at higher levels.
I think the Kings will provide a challenge against a weakened Free State outfit. But I admit that domestic promotion would be a surprise, especially when you consider the fact that the current Kings side isn’t much stronger than the team that lost to the Pumas in the 2010 play-offs.
But look beyond this result and you’ll notice that the Southern Kings are making progress; to the extent where they are likely to become a more competitive team than the Cheetahs as soon as next season.
While the Stormers, Sharks and Bulls will be Super Rugby title contenders in 2013, the Cheetahs and Kings will battle in the wooden spoon race.
It’s something both franchises will want to avoid as the last-placed team is expected to face the Lions in the first South African Super Rugby promotion-relegation play-offs. I say expected because this format could still change if voted against at the next Saru Exco meeting; but that’s another story.
Many pundits expect the Kings to struggle because of the trend set by other tournament debutants. The Western Force and Melbourne Rebels have both finished last in their first campaigns in 2006 and 2011 respectively.
However, both Australian teams struggled because they were established from scratch. The Kings have a platform to work from in the EP Kings, Border and SWD.
They have a quality mentor in director of rugby Alan Solomons. He’s clearly had a positive effect on the EP Kings, who have only lost 10 out of 57 games in all domestic competitions since his arrival in June 2010. That’s a winning percentage of 82.4%.
The Kings team that will play in Super Rugby will also be much stronger than the side that has featured on the domestic scene over the last two seasons. They have signed the likes of centre Andries Strauss, lock Steven Sykes, flyhalf Demetri Catrakilis and hooker Bandise Maku, and have four internationals in wing Paul Perez, prop Clint Newland, scrumhalf Nicolas Vergallo and utility back Hadleigh Parkes. More reinforcements will arrive during the build-up to the 2013 campaign.
The only complication is that the Kings will only be allowed two of those foreigners in their final squad that they declare to Saru. The other two will be allowed in the wider squads and will be able to be called up in case of injury. There’s also a chance that Saru might accommodate the Kings, who are still requesting that the restrictions be lifted.
The Cheetahs haven’t impressed in Super Rugby since their readmission in 2006. They have won 27 out of 84 games (a winning percentage of just 32%) during this period and their highest finish has been 10th place.
They have lost key players since this year’s Super Rugby campaign in No 8 Ashley Johnson (London Wasps, England), prop WP Nel (Edinburgh, Scotland) and lock George Earle (Scarlets, Wales). The departures of flyhalf Sias Ebersohn (Western Force), lock Izak van der Westhuizen (Edinbugh), prop Marcel van der Merwe (Bulls) and Strauss at the end of the year will also cost the squad depth.
In reply, the Cheetahs have only signed on props Caylib Oosthuizen (Lions) and Rossouw de Klerk (Bulls), centre Johann Sadie (Bulls) and flyhalf Elgar Watts (Boland). Griquas will provide some depth, but the Cheetahs won’t be able to afford injuries to key players.
If you look a bit deeper, you’d see the Free State and EP junior teams are also experiencing contrasting fortunes.
This season, the Free State U21s only won four out 12 league games. Their U19s only won three of their 12 fixtures.
The EP U21s and U19s topped their respective logs in the B Divisions, with the former team securing the provincial title. They will compete for promotion to the A Division.
Transformation is also evident in EP’s junior teams, which bodes well for the future. The Southern Kings will also be able to tap into the top black talent in SWD and Border’s junior structures. However, Super Rugby participation will be vital in retaining these young players.
While many in the South African rugby fraternity are worried about the Lions, it looks like the Cheetahs are also struggling. And at all levels too.
These are still early days, but a power change has already begun by the looks of it. The Kings are on the rise, while the Cheetahs are headed in another direction.
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327 Comments
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18 Oct 2012, 10:53 am
@Joe Maher-117: who gives a toss about “rugby heritage”? this is super rugby ie FRANCHISE rugby!
i can see now how the likes of Manie Reyneke to the Super rugby money SARU paid to the franchise as GLRU money and duly spent it on everything either than union business.
without Manie & de Klerk SWINDLING Robert Gumede & co for their money on a promise they clearly knew they were going to sell to Altmann Allers, there would’ve been NO john mitchell, NO wayne taylor, NO carlos spencer, NO butch james, NO 2nd string Sharks player transfers to Jozi meaning NO 2011 Currie Cup…
try and spin that as “propaganda”
18 Oct 2012, 10:55 am
@Horings-149:
Dosn’t matter what you say, you still have a poorer record and always will
18 Oct 2012, 10:57 am
@John Galt-123: Hoskins, former president of Natal rugby, a true BOOTLICKER!
18 Oct 2012, 10:58 am
@Horings-147: I cant and as you know i am a huge Lambie Fan, alberts i thought did not deserve it either, I would have had MArcel Coetzee and CJ Stander in their place, And Goosen in place of Jantjes
18 Oct 2012, 11:00 am
In any case,lion supporters can climb up the walls,write long essays,manuscripts,love poems etc etc,the fact of the matter is that they have been rightly caned from super rugby.I,for one,won’t be missing them next season.That’s enough from me on this issue.Good riddance lions.Au revoir,totsiens ,Cheerios Lions!!
18 Oct 2012, 11:01 am
@Black Power-152: Did I say the opposite? You are not getting the reaction you wanted, are you? Me agreeing with you is actually pissing you off.
18 Oct 2012, 11:01 am
@wnbb-150: I sense that your agitation here stems from a similar situation in your own life. I suspect that you also are (or were at some stage) the beneficiary of preferential treatment in your career due to your BEE designation. And while this was certainly handy, you hate how inadequate it makes you feel.
18 Oct 2012, 11:02 am
@katman-139: the LIONS were to be RELEGATED and somehow were NOT!
“The parties present at the SARugby President’s Council meeting held on 8 June 2005 at the Intercontinental Sandton Sunagreed the following in respect ofthe franchise system in South Africa for the Super 14 Competition.
- The South African team finishing at the bottom of the log in 2006, will automatically be replaced by the SE Cape for the 2007 season.
how did they survive this?:
be honest!
you want fairness and merit yet you are mum on how you lot ILLEGALLY with the help of the SAME saffa led by Oregan Hoskins staved off relegation in 2006!
it is called, hypocrisy!
18 Oct 2012, 11:04 am
Yes Gareth the Kings are making progress: They lost against Boland in the final last season but this year they managed to beat the Pumas in the final!
It seems that keo has been appointed as the PRO company of the Kings, in addition to acting as Luke’s agent. I’m sure he is not complaining: next year his contract will increase from R3 million to R4 mill p.a !!
18 Oct 2012, 11:05 am
@sharks_lover-154: Thanks for your honesty. I am also a Lambie fan, but these Saru idiots do not watch any rugby nor do they know anything about rugby. Super 15 players of the year should be JPP, BdP, Kolisi, Coetzee, Daniel, Goosen and Etzebeth. Springbok player of the year should be Alberts, JPP(won the series against ENG), Etzebeth, F Louw, JdP and Habana.
18 Oct 2012, 11:06 am
@Black Power-143: bwahahahahaha really? so silverfern is not a decent blog without saffas i guess?
18 Oct 2012, 11:07 am
@John Galt-145: what a cop-out, you have no thoughts of your own and latch on to vindictive, emo nonsense by Katman….hahahaha
18 Oct 2012, 11:09 am
@Horings-147: no man, please leave lambie out of this…even if lambie had played only 2 games sharks_lover would think lambie was a candidate!
18 Oct 2012, 11:09 am
@Transformation-158: “how did they survive this?”
Come on, Transie. You know exactly how. The Spears financial and managerial affairs were deemed to be in a far worse state than even the Lions. So that’s pretty fcken bad. And THAT’s why they couldn’t let them play.
This has been widely reported ever since. I don’t know why you’re pretending not to know.
Or actually, I do know.
18 Oct 2012, 11:11 am
@Horings-160: The again Lambie was cheated out of winng the new player of the year a year or 2 ago, so yeah crazy stuff from SARU.
To be very honest i have voted for Keegan Daniel as rugby player of the year, he has been brilliant all year and that in his first year as Capt?? People keep saying he is too small? but yet in just about every match he plays he outplays his fellow loose forwards.
18 Oct 2012, 11:11 am
@Transformation-163: And even he does not have a clue why Lambie was nominated.
18 Oct 2012, 11:13 am
@Transformation-163: remind me to laugh HA ha Farking HA,
18 Oct 2012, 11:14 am
@sharks_lover-165: I will vote for JPP. Although he was injured he was the standout player in the super 15 and he won us the series against Eng. Etzebeth is a close second, but definitely young player of the year.
Things did not turn out for Hougaard as he would have likes. Read pre-season that one of his goals this year is to be IRB player of the year. Maybe his main aim should have been to be part of a winning team.
18 Oct 2012, 11:14 am
@CharlesM-159: FYI, we have walloped Boland every single time we play them and finish a game with 15 players! in one game we had 3 players sin-binned which skews the contest!
Kings: winners in 2010, runner ups in 2011, winners in 2012 even with the Pumas and Leopards added. we finished the log 12 points ahead of our closest rival.
18 Oct 2012, 11:15 am
@Transformation-162: Really? I’ve been nothing but logical and rational on this thread. Go back and re-read. Just because I also happen to be pointing out huge logical and rational elephants in your room doesn’t necessarily make me “emo and vindictive”, wena.
18 Oct 2012, 11:15 am
@Horings-166: Ignore him Horings , it thinks IT knows me,BUt its a self opinionated twatwaffel that sticks it’s nose where it aint wanted ,
Anyhows i gave you an honest answer,
18 Oct 2012, 11:15 am
@sharks_lover-165: “People keep saying he is too small? but yet in just about every match he plays he outplays his fellow loose forwards.” ???
You wanted Daniel benched for the Bulls, so that a ‘stronger’ pack could tackle the Bulls head on for the first 50 minutes of your upcoming semi-final?
*justremindingyou*
18 Oct 2012, 11:16 am
@Horings-168: I was between JPP and Daniel and Etsebeth, and Like i said Coetzee for me should have been there and i prolly would have voted for him, but he aint so yeah i went for Daniel
18 Oct 2012, 11:17 am
@Black Power-133: And Lance Armstrong is the greatest ever cyclist.
18 Oct 2012, 11:18 am
@Horings-168: Yeah a few players took a knock this year,
18 Oct 2012, 11:18 am
@katman-164: LIAR! try another one
i’ll be fair andf give you another chance.
how did the LIONS stave off relegation after on August 4 2006 a decision of Judge Dennis Davis ruled that the Spears have the right to play in the 2007 Super 14?
18 Oct 2012, 11:20 am
@katman-157: So,you’re not going to answer the question?That’s fine with me as it would probably not sit well with your own agenda you are trying to push on this forum.
18 Oct 2012, 11:20 am
Why are Morne and Krusty not on the list?
18 Oct 2012, 11:22 am
@Transformation-162:
No Cop out. Its exactly how I feel.
I have neither the time nor the inclination to regurgitate what he said. I could repeat it in slightly different prose but what would be the point?
And its not just the 2 of us that feel this way. What he wrote is the predominant complaint with the whole Kings saga.
18 Oct 2012, 11:22 am
@Transformation-176: Who gives a *****? Lions are out, Queens are in.
For now.
18 Oct 2012, 11:23 am
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-172:
Slim vang sy baas weereens??The www can be a b itch sometimes-always coming back to bite you in the … 
18 Oct 2012, 11:25 am
@Transformation-169: The fact remains that Boland beat the Kings twice at the end of last season, of which one was the final. The Boland has a very small budget and lost a number of players. Therefore the Kings were not the only ones that walloped the Boland this season. During this season the Kings played the Pumas three times with 2 games being drawn and the final had one point difference in the final score. The Pumas don’t have any big name players. If the Kings struggled to beat them, how are they not going to struggle against the S15 opponents ?
18 Oct 2012, 11:28 am
@Transformation-176: Just to jog your selective memory…
“The Southern Spears have been blocked from competing in the 2007 Super 14 by the SA Rugby board of directors.
A two-week investigation by South African Rugby Union (SARU) officials determined the Southern and Eastern Cape-based franchise was not at “acceptable levels of readiness” to compete in the three-nation tournament.
“We realize that it is a difficult and sensitive issue,” board chairman Mpumelelo Tshume said.
“The decision of the board will be an unpopular one in some sectors of the community, but we believe halting the Spears’ participation in the Super 14 for now is the right thing to do.
“Posterity will judge us harshly if we consider quick fixes.”
Tshume said two of the three provinces in the region were in serious financial difficulties.”
18 Oct 2012, 11:31 am
@katman-164: “The Spears financial and managerial affairs were deemed to be in a far worse state than even the Lions” hahaha oh really?
EP were never here!
Van der Walt included the financial figures for the 2007 to 2010 financial years, describing it as a “dramatic and continuing decline in the factual solvency”.
The Golden Lions’ financial woes have spiralled since 2007 when the company’s total liabilities exceeded its total assets as follows:• 2007: R48.6m;• 2008: R49.6m;• 2009: R63.7m;• 2010: R73.9m.
The rugby union’s financial situation is said to have deteriorated even further since then and, according to Van der Walt, the rugby union approached Absa Bank in October 2010 with a request to extend the terms of repayment of its overdraft.
“Absa was only willing to extend the period subject to the applicants’ (Guma TAC) providing a letter of undertaking to confirm future funding.”
18 Oct 2012, 11:36 am
TAKE M STEYN WITH YOU SPIES
Spies heading to France?
——————————————————————————–
by Brenden Nel 18 October 2012, 11:07
Springbok No8 and Bulls captain Pierre Spies may further his career up north after French club Bayonne reportedly have made a massive offer for his services over the next three years.
Spies has been negotiating with the Bulls to extend his contract but has been unsuccessful thus far, and with time running out – his contract expires next week – there is some concern that he may be lured by the big offer.
Bayonne have been searching for a top class No 8 and have made unsuccessful approaches to Bok Jacques Potgieter and All Black Liam Messam, and were keen on Springbok flanker Juan Smith to take the spot on return from injury, but according to French sources the club has been put off by Smith’s injury problems over the years.
Spies’ unsuccessful negotiations with the Bulls have made him a prime candidate, and it is supersport.com’s information that he has been offered close to R15-million over three years, with a nett salary of 40 000 euros per month should he make the move.
But the Bulls have not given up on him yet, and confirmed to supersport.com that they were continuing to negotiate an extension of his current contract with a teleconference set for Thursday to thrash out the final details.
How this plays out against the offer from Bayonne, which has been confirmed by two French sources, but denied by Spies’ agent Gerrie Swart, is anyone’s guess.
“We know nothing of such an offer and we are continuing to negotiate with the Bulls for an extension of Pierre’s contract,” Swart told supersport.com.
There is no doubt Spies, who grew up and has had his entire career in Pretoria, would want to stay at the Bulls, depending on the details of the contract.
With Springbok Jean de Villiers also doubtful for the Springbok end of year tour, Spies’ name has been mentioned as a long term captaincy candidate, although his form before getting injured appeared to have counted against him.
And with just 13 days left on his contract a decision needs to be made
18 Oct 2012, 11:38 am
@katman-183: AHHHH “acceptable levels of readiness”
since when did you become a SARU bullshit gobbler?
18 Oct 2012, 11:40 am
@shooter-43: haha, big farmers breeding can only be good for rugby…
18 Oct 2012, 11:41 am
@grant10-185: So it seems the Bulls might have seen the light as well? Hell, when you have Arno Botha on your books and more than ready to break down the door – why would they want Spies either as a captain, or as a guaranteed starter?
18 Oct 2012, 11:44 am
@XhosaKid-77: Fair point… But a super rugby franchise is not the reason you choose a high school…Grey PE or any one of the other boarding schools in EP not good enough?
18 Oct 2012, 11:46 am
@CharlesM-182: i like the fact that you don’t count the 1st game of last season where the Kings beat Boland and what is most significant to you are the “last two games” both in wellington, both with the Kings unfairly yellow-carded!
last year Boland boasted the likes of Willie le Roux, Danwell Demas, Elgar Watts.
Struggling in Super rugby is something you as a Stormers supporter you know very well, with your team having tasted relegation before! the Kings have to start somewhere, the same as the Force, Rebels, Central Cheetahs and Lions did.
the Bulls in the early 2000 were the most hondkak team in super rugby, they’re the only saffa side to have won the comp…it has to start somewhere!
18 Oct 2012, 11:47 am
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-188:
Indeed we need the money to play for all our young province players.
18 Oct 2012, 11:47 am
@grant10-185: go Pierre!
18 Oct 2012, 11:47 am
@Transformation-186: You may not like it, but “acceptable levels of readiness” is actually a pretty good gauge of who should play in Super Rugby and who not. As your Kings are soon to find out. Sure, everyone likes a feelgood story – a Jamaican bobsleigh team, if you like – but at the end of the day the rest of us rugby loving public can take only so much of rugby’s version of Eric the Eel splashing and spluttering his way through the Super Rugby competition. It becomes too much to watch, regardless of the Hollywood movie aspect to the storyline. So absobloodylutely yes, acceptable levels of readiness is the top criteria.
And don’t give me your hackneyed old line about the Lions’ performance. Wait till you see how deep that valley of despair can really go before you start comparing the two.
18 Oct 2012, 11:47 am
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-188: C J Stander has jumped the gun …..pity
18 Oct 2012, 11:48 am
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-188: BUt in stupidity they lost CJ Stander, their best player this year, CRazy stuff
18 Oct 2012, 11:49 am
@Transformation-190:
unfairly yellow carded.
welocme down from off the fence amigo.
18 Oct 2012, 11:49 am
@grant10-185:
Fantastic news! Now pack up and off you go…
Dead wood indeed.
18 Oct 2012, 11:49 am
@grant10-194:
grant we were both just busy typing the same stuff
18 Oct 2012, 11:53 am
@gunther-191: You can purchase as many of our young players as you wish for the next 3 years with the money you will be saving on Spies’s salary. That is my gift to the Bulls for ridding SA rugby of it’s “finest athlete” ever ever ever….
Sacrificing a few young WP players to the pantoffelpagans in Pretoria is a VERY small price to pay
18 Oct 2012, 11:55 am
@John Galt-179: you are saying Cheeky used political influence while you ignore REAL rugby work like this:
EPRU gets unqualified audit – first in 7 years
2010/05/04
Sbongile Dimbaza
THE Eastern Province Rugby Union has received an unqualified audit report – the first in seven years.
EPRU president Cheeky Watson said this augured well for plans to ensure the union became attractive to sponsors.
“It’s down to good teamwork that we have achieved this. The union’s books have been in the red for a long time and our management strategy has paid off.”
He said turning things around in rugby was never an easy business, but what had been achieved was a reflection of pure determination on the part of the management.
Watson said this new development would give comfort to potential sponsors of the EPRU.
Part of the union’s plan is to hire an experienced coach, but Watson said talks were still at a sensitive stage.
New players are being sought to inject new blood into the team.
“We need to ensure we build on this achievement, because it’s going to have an impact on clubs and sub-unions.”
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