Long live the Kings
25 Feb 2013
MARK KEOHANE, in Business Day, writes the Kings turned a night of potential ruin into a night to remember.
They played in black but it was all Grey when it came to the Southern Kings historic and winning Super Rugby debut in Port Elizabeth.
Grey High School, academically and culturally strong, is also Port Elizabeth’s most renowned sporting and rugby institution.
Kings Director of Rugby Alan Solomons was schooled at Grey. Kings captain Luke Watson went to Grey and Saturday night’s two-try wing wonder Sergeal Petersen finished matric at Grey High just three months ago. The past, present and future of the region were all primary to a victory for the Southern and Eastern Cape, for South African rugby and for the country.
This was indeed a victory for the locals made possible by locals. It was a momentous occasion that demanded celebration and the necessary outpouring of emotion.
The Kings, as a squad, are limited in pedigree but not in passion.
The haters of the Kings called the team an embarrassment to South African rugby. This was before kick-off.
Those haters again displayed every quality of a bully and coward and stayed clear of social media forums on Saturday night. They would have taken the Kings 22-10 win against Australia’s Western Force personally. It is their way.
The haters will be back this week with boasts that the Kings won’t win again this season. This distorted thinking will give credence to their vindictiveness.
The haters don’t see the Lions winning 15 from 90 Super Rugby matches and losing 17 in succession as an embarrassment. The haters don’t recall the Bulls winning two out of 22 matches in Heyneke Meyer’s first two years as a Super Rugby coach. The haters don’t remember the Cheetahs, Lions, Sharks, Cats, Stormers and Bulls all taking 50-plus point beatings in the history of the tournament.
Never have so many South Africans done such a disservice to a South African Rugby franchise.
The argument that Super Rugby participation has to be earned is flawed. How did the Rebels and Force earn the right to play in the competition? They were included to grow the game in Australia.
The Sharks (as Natal) were given Currie Cup status in an expanded structure and went onto become the most successful South African province a decade later.
Griquas and the Pumas, as two examples, were given Currie Cup status by way of another expansion from six to eight teams.
The Kings were reluctantly and resentfully officially declared participants in the 2013 Super Rugby season in August 2012, and there was no guarantee beyond one season.
Few players of Super Rugby quality were willing to leave other provinces in South Africa or return from Europe to play for a region in which uncertainty was the only certainty.
It was assumed – among the anti Kings’ contingent – that the shame of defeat in every match would dull enthusiasm for Super Rugby in the region. It was never a consideration the Kings would lead the South African Conference after the first round of matches.
The Kings on a historic night in our rugby played without a jersey sponsor. They were made to feel like paupers.
They were treated like renegades and played like revolutionaries. They turned a night of potential ruin into a night to remember.
Brumbies loose-forward David Pocock tweeted his best wishes to the Southern Kings on Saturday afternoon and wished them all the best.
The Zimbabwean-born captain of the Wallabies, a man of integrity and substance, who has never forgotten his African roots and who once tweeted he never missed an issue of South African Rugby Magazine as a youngster, cared enough to known what the Kings would mean to the future of the game in Southern Africa.
Pocock, in 140 characters, showed more goodwill to the Kings than the National Governing Body has done in the last 140 months.
Cheeky Watson, an activist against apartheid in South Africa, continues to fight apartheid in South African Rugby. He refused and refuses to compromise on the Kings’ presence in a unified South African Rugby landscape.
It makes him unpopular to a cultural minority. So too Solomons, who four years ago committed to a 10 year plan to restore rugby’s respect within the region.
One of the greatest nights in our unified rugby history was also the saddest because it showed – not how far we have come in unity – but just how far we need to go.
All hail the Kings. Long live the Kings.
Respect
526 Comments
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25 Feb 2013, 05:19 am
Dragon Kings!
25 Feb 2013, 05:33 am
Bravehearts!
25 Feb 2013, 05:48 am
Go Kings. Prove these detractors wrong. After the Stormers you guys have all my support!
25 Feb 2013, 05:52 am
One win against worst Aussie team in comp and we have to bow at the feet of the Kings!! Perspective, please.
25 Feb 2013, 06:02 am
“One of the greatest nights in our unified rugby history was also the saddest because it showed – not how far we have come in unity – but just how far we need to go.”
Did we really need the Kings saga to show us this, Mark? We see this every year with the massive anti Stormers sentiment pro NZ fanbase at Newlands. We couldn’t solve that little unity issue in the Cape yet here you are looking for another pathetic excuse to drum up sympathy for your cronies down in PE.
25 Feb 2013, 06:25 am
He’s a good boy that Pocock. Even has a charity in Zimbabwe which he’s very hands on about and goes there every so often. As a white zimbo who’s family was forced to flee their farm to SA then onto Australia he’d have more reason to be bitter than a lot of expats. But he’s still proud of his African heritage and doesn’t live a bitter haters life. Good sort. In another lifetime might have taken the familiar route of varsity in SA then eventual rise to Bok colours.
As for The Kings….well that game just about gave me goosebumps. Had everything in terms of drama including a fresh faced 18 yr old schoolboy sensation being revealed to the world. Looks quality does that boy, reminded me of a certain fresh faced winger bursting out of obscurity down the touchline in Europe circa 2004.
25 Feb 2013, 06:28 am
And his teenage naivitee and excitement in the post match interview was so refreshing compared to the usual montonic “ja ja it was a game of two halves” scripted drool
25 Feb 2013, 06:28 am
Ill support any SA team, but justifying anything by bashing the Lions record is pathetic, because its not relevant. SARU made a mess of things and even if the Kings play in the final (ha) it still doesnt change the fact that they got in and the Lions forced out of the SR comp due to political interference. That will be the biggest stain on SA rugby history until SARU starts serving SA rugby.
I hope the Kings do well and if they dont I hope that they will get the support needed to become a competitive team. If all our teams do well SA wins. SARU should give support to struggling teams. Regardless of the outcome of the relegation games, the Lions and the Kings BOTH need support to become truly strong franchises, especially if both are probably going to play SR in 2015 anyway. Isnt that SARU’s role??? To ensure that SA rugby in general reach its full potential ?
So Keo, stop being a narrow minded ****.
25 Feb 2013, 06:46 am
come on keo…be a unifier, no need to call people out!
25 Feb 2013, 06:51 am
hehehe
Mark’s just told the majotiy of the bloggers who faithfully post comments here to go *beep* themselves.
25 Feb 2013, 06:58 am
@Jeez-8: well said…your 2nd para is spot on.
25 Feb 2013, 07:08 am
with you there transie…i was hoping that after the kings first game we would be discussing what happened between the whitewash only…
25 Feb 2013, 07:16 am
Why not call out the cowards who are so full of anti sentiments even within a framework of a new S.A. franchise win suggesting the only reason Kings won was because they came up against the weaknesses of Australia whipping boys Force. Will be an interesting paradox if Force just by chance take Bulls close or even beat them in Pta heaven forbid.
25 Feb 2013, 07:33 am
I’ve just finished watching the Oscars and when I saw Jane Fonda tonight I realized Luke is the rugby equivalent of Hanoi Jane
25 Feb 2013, 07:46 am
Well done to the Kings. They made SA proud. I hope they can get a couple more wins. Well done to the fans aswell. They showed they belonged.
25 Feb 2013, 08:02 am
@skunk-15:
there was a group of lions supporters sitting close to me who obviously had bought into the notion that the kings would lose by a cricket score. their mood got more and more sombre as the game went on and it dawned them that the embarrassement that has long been foretold on the blogs was not forthcoming. they looked positively depressed at the final whistle, although they were applauding the kings at the end, to their credit. i felt a bit sorry for them, just a little bit
25 Feb 2013, 08:02 am
Great passion from the Kings and their fans on Saturday.
If anyone doubted what it means to them they don’t now.
Right now the Kings have got a very decent chance of embraboering the Briesers.
Good on you.
25 Feb 2013, 08:05 am
Great stuff, Kings.
Hope there are a couple more victories in store for you. Not against the Bulls though.
25 Feb 2013, 08:06 am
Kings showed more commitment , passion and good old fashioned ballas than the Stormers could even dream of….
People can say what they want about Luke, but he has the ability to get those around him into a state of do or die , far more than I ever saw from Schalk or JDV !!
25 Feb 2013, 08:15 am
I just wish I could believe that you actaully have SA rugby at heart Keo but deep down we all know that you are just buttering up the watsons because they are going to sell a lot of biographies one day and you want a piece of that action. You are about as real as Pamela Anderson boobies.
Well done Kings, I was born and lived in Durban for 25 years, i am a die hard Sharks fan but now live in Perth and have an Aussie passport and early Sunday morning I was still jumping up and down when Sergeal when over for his first try. Great great day for rugby.
25 Feb 2013, 08:19 am
Fantastic stuff from the Kings.
Keep it going – if they can win some more matches at home, this will really start getting the interest in rugby in the Eastern Cape going again, which would be fantastic for South African rugby in the long run.
25 Feb 2013, 08:24 am
Where’s Dusky?
25 Feb 2013, 08:25 am
@grant10-19: It was a good thing that Luke went off otherwise I am not sure the Kings would of won.
25 Feb 2013, 08:27 am
@grant10-19: Luke is one of those players/captain that takes all the responsibilty on himself, no man is an island and that would of been detrimental to the team on Saturday. More guys stepped up after went off. That No 19 Jacques Engelbrecht is a beast!
25 Feb 2013, 08:28 am
@WP-Forever-21: I am sure Saturday’s win already had an impression on the youngsters of Eastern Cape.
25 Feb 2013, 08:31 am
Keo, this article carries as much hate as those that opose the Kings. You are just the other side of the coin.
@Transformation-9: Keo can learn from you.
May this be the first of many wins, as long as it is not against the Sharks.
25 Feb 2013, 08:31 am
I must say i was against the Kings inclusion but they made me a believer on Saturday. Great team performance. But can they really go on and win another game? Perhaps against the Cheetahs or Rebels?
25 Feb 2013, 08:35 am
Finally the Eastern Cape returned to rugby in front of 33,000 rugby fans and they won against the Western Force playing with passion and like how rugby should be played, for each other.
The fact that the Southern Kings played in a jersey that had no title sponsor speaks volumes as a statement that SARU from Hoskins to Judas Roux has done little to nothing to assist or obtain sponsorship for the Southern Kings as a 50% shareholder in the entity.
If anything they are a liability to progressing the Southern Kings and I dare say a case could be made for these SARU directors to be personally accountable for not complying with the Companies Act and Kings Code and held responsible in terms of Section 124 of the Companies Act.
It is an indictment on SARU that they have been unable to establish a sponsorship or sponsorships for the Southern Kings.
More so it is a reflection of a sinister agenda of apathy.
What the Southern Kings needs is a fire cracker to establish these sponsorship deals and restore dignity to what has started out as a spectacular and inspiring return to rugby – a true team effort.
25 Feb 2013, 08:40 am
All quiet on the western front
If Kings had lost on Saturday this place would have been a hive of bustling Sharkishits nay sayings of gleeful I told you so’s. Seeing that they got little ammo to chuck at Kings or Luke or Cheeky today they rather lie low and build up some more anti sentiment bile and blame and blather for another opportunity down the line.
Strange how there’s little to say when there’s little to cry and complain about
25 Feb 2013, 08:49 am
So Keo I take it you no longer think that they were setup to fail.
25 Feb 2013, 08:55 am
@grant10-19: yeah, captain courageous…kudos to dries strauss though, he took over with aplomb, kept communicating with the guys as the emotions were very high…
25 Feb 2013, 08:56 am
vleis engelbrecht was the super sub we needed…he had a monster of a game.
25 Feb 2013, 08:59 am
@Transformation-31:
Watsons replacement was my MOM. That laaitjie can play.
25 Feb 2013, 08:59 am
I see a movie in the works.
Russel Crowe to play Luke Watson.
Al Pacino to play Solly.
Cheeky to play himself.
25 Feb 2013, 09:00 am
@stormersboy-34:
Cheeky will also be executive producer and director.
25 Feb 2013, 09:03 am
@WP-Forever-35: Naturally
25 Feb 2013, 09:04 am
@RL-30:
So guppy
I take it you no longer think they were set up to fail
25 Feb 2013, 09:06 am
There would’ve been more reason to celebrate if the Kings lost by 10 points but played with a 100% “transformed” team.
25 Feb 2013, 09:09 am
I dont buy it…
I dont buy the lie…
I dont buy the lie and deception that is the Kings…
The players played with honour, courage and conviction on Saturday…
They were honest rugby players all… climbing their own Everests…
A pity their franchise stands for the diametric opposite – deception, cowardice, dishonesty…
The liars can be as emotive as they would like… Most will not buy…
FucktheKings
25 Feb 2013, 09:12 am
@Transformation-32: @Mr Black-33: He was huge!
25 Feb 2013, 09:14 am
A piece of unashamed Kings propaganda! How much did you pocket from the Watsons to write this Keo?
25 Feb 2013, 09:16 am
Uhm. Keo. You yourself said the best chance of them winning a game this season would be the first game against the Force. We all knew there was a good chance of that happening with the Force being the weakest team they’ve ever been. What is this article about really? Like I said previously, the only ones who stirred ‘hatred’ towards the Kings were… you media-guys. And this article is just about adding more wood to the fire.
25 Feb 2013, 09:17 am
@Transformation-31:
Dries Strauss is a warrior.
There were some that called him a donkey etc while he was playing for the Sharks but he will prove to be a great signing for the Kings.
Just what is needed in that Kings backline.
25 Feb 2013, 09:18 am
@stormersboy-34:
Will Ferrell to play Sheeky.
He’d have a lot of fun with it.
I can see the ” Landy in the Dam” scene brining home an Oscar.
25 Feb 2013, 09:18 am
I’d probably have supported the Kings was it not for certain people’s involvement therein and the political wrangling that took place to get them in.
Who knows, maybe I’ll warm to them.
Maybe next year if they are still there.
Good on the Grey boys though.
25 Feb 2013, 09:18 am
@WP-Forever-35: executive production enough for cheeky
25 Feb 2013, 09:19 am
That big can of schadenfreude is shaken and ready to froth over when the Cream of the Eastern Cape get whipped…
25 Feb 2013, 09:19 am
@John Galt-43: The number 8 was also very good. Du Preez or something like that.
25 Feb 2013, 09:20 am
@gunther-44:
Zack Galifianakis to play Puke.
25 Feb 2013, 09:22 am
@gunther: funny guy…
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