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, 15:12 pm
@gunther-294:
@nama1-296:
I think I must hire a hacker to tap into TR’s computer.
25 Feb 2013, 15:13 pm
the “honest rugby supportets”have deffered their schadefreude
25 Feb 2013, 15:14 pm
@nama1-299:
I’m talking about getting a home semifinal.
Meaning ending one or two on the log. You can still top the conference Aussie style, despite being like 5th on the overall log, but that won’t get you anywhere near a trophy.
25 Feb 2013, 15:15 pm
@Tacitus-292:
Exactly I’d like to see the younger back row forwards like Adendorf and Cook get a look in.
Steggies and Potgeiter have become sick notes.
25 Feb 2013, 15:16 pm
@Tacitus-292: Indeed although Chilli has improved that facet of his play, i think he played all 17 games last year for the Bulls.
25 Feb 2013, 15:16 pm
George Clooney – Anton Leonard
25 Feb 2013, 15:17 pm
@gunther-304:
SA Rugby magazine
SAR NEWS: Bulls trio JJ Engelbrecht (hip), Dewald Potgieter (knee) and Deon Stegmann (hamstring strain) will miss the Force match through injury.
25 Feb 2013, 15:17 pm
@nortierd-301:
Do that and you’ll join the other long pigs in the pot.
25 Feb 2013, 15:18 pm
@nortierd-307:
Not a train smash. JJ isn’t a centre in any case, but Ludeke refuses to acknowledge it.
Olivier to 13 and Venter or Serfontein to 12.
Alternatively, Mapoe to 13 and Hougaard to wing.
25 Feb 2013, 15:18 pm
@nortierd-307:
Guess Jan will get his run on start and to reinforce Gunther’s thoughts, the sick notes are already written
25 Feb 2013, 15:20 pm
@Transformation-302: Did you post that article of the club rugby match of the u21 PE SAPS and Swallows for these guys to enjoy? Yoh. I enjoy the passion of some of the EC rugby lovers, esspecially the ladies, but sometimes they can get carried away.
25 Feb 2013, 15:20 pm
@nortierd-310:
Not so sure. Serfontein has a minor injury. Should be ready by Wednesday but no need to rush him.
I think at the very least he will be on the bench, but the Bulls really seem to delay letting younsters leaprog established players.
For example, I would play Pollard ahead of Louis Fouche any day of the week, but the Bulls have this weird concept called loyalty, where they stick to guys out of habit or something.
Very frustrating, in my view.
25 Feb 2013, 15:21 pm
@gunther-308:
He picked very well for round 2
Had to laugh last night, he said his uncle gave him grief when he told him about Superbru. His uncle was disappointed that he did not put a flutter on his picks
VB did well too, jumped 105 spots.
25 Feb 2013, 15:23 pm
@Tacitus-312:
Yes Fouche is nowhere.
What’s the point of paying Pollard 1 bar a year and then wasting him in the Vodacom cup?
25 Feb 2013, 15:26 pm
@Tacitus-312:
True
My concern with the Bulls, and I don’t mean this in a nasty way, is it seems like they have two sets of criteria when buying players.
One- they rate them and intend to use them for their benefit.
Two- they rate them and buy them not for their own gain, but to stop them from playing against them in future where they might cause the Bulls damage.
They have the funds and are good at buying, so no issues from me there.
25 Feb 2013, 15:26 pm
@gunther-314:
As I said, frustrating. I can tell within 2 seasons whether a guy is going to make it in the big league or not. Sometimes within 1 season even. With rare exceptions.
Fouche aint got what it takes in the mental strength department.
And Engelbrecht doesn’t have the ball sense for centre. He juggles to many passes, runs the wrong lines in too many instances and generally is a strong runner and physical player, but doesn’t have the touch of a centre. Compare him to Brian o Driscoll for example and there’s no comparison.
JJ is a wing or nothing.
25 Feb 2013, 15:27 pm
@nortierd-293: lol Tough one that. Blues look good but Crusaders are the Crusaders although they are still rusty.
25 Feb 2013, 15:27 pm
@Tacitus-312:
Is Pollard playing for Tuks tonight?
25 Feb 2013, 15:27 pm
First of all……congrats Bulls….you beat my team and I did not enjoy the game, not because we lost but just that my worst nightmare was true…..AC stil is going to play it safe and will not put his chips on the table when he needs to…(He thinks he is the new bok coach in the making)
Second of all…..WELL DONE KINGS!
Lets start of this way. I do not agree with the way the Kings got in…….BUT man was it time do kick the lions and cheethas in the nuts!!! The Cheetahs performance last year was purely from fear of being relegated and the lions was just stupid enough to believe a new space would be created for them.
I like the fact that now mediocre performance will not be rewarded and the last team will have to fight for their spot. It makes it interesting and also help the bigger teams since now more wins from bottom feeders will keep some points away from other teams just feasting on the lions and cheetahs every year. Hope this will lead to overall better SA teams and ultimately better Bokke squads!
25 Feb 2013, 15:28 pm
@nortierd-315:
No its not that. Unless you let a guy play, you’re going to lose him to the competition in any case before he reaches senior level. So this talk about them simply buying players to keep them away from other unions is nonsense.
The thing is just that they stay loyal to existing players for too long.
25 Feb 2013, 15:28 pm
@nortierd-318:
No idea.
25 Feb 2013, 15:28 pm
@Tacitus-303:
I think the teams with the most log points had around 70 the last two years. Now, take into account that teams play 16 league matches where they can get a maximum of 5 points. That gives you 80. Plus the 8 free points that teams get when they have their two byes. The maximum therefor is 88 log points.
That means you can drop up to five games and still top the log if you make sure that you score bonus points when you lose and when you win.
8 bonus points in 5 losing games are equal to two wins without bonuspoints.
On an aside. I see that the saders will play 10 games in a row before they have their next bye. It will be very hard on their players. Let’s see if they come up with the “fatigue” excuse later in the season.
25 Feb 2013, 15:31 pm
I see Taute has a grown injury and will be out of the match against the Stormers.
25 Feb 2013, 15:33 pm
@nama1-322:
The Crusaders have never made excuses, even after having no home ground, they didn’t use it as an excuse after losing the final.
Imagine being Todd, your star player and captain is given a sabbatical, your AB wing goes on a booze binge and goes to rehab, all before your first game.
Your job is not secure and things outside your influence can determine your future, yet he just soldiers on without any complaint.
25 Feb 2013, 15:34 pm
@rossoneri-311: no i haven’t it’s not online yet
25 Feb 2013, 15:34 pm
groin!!!!
25 Feb 2013, 15:35 pm
@nama1-322:
We’ll see. Look at the win numbers. I think 12 wins are a minimum to get a top 2 spot. Last year the top spot Stormers ahd 14 wins with the 2nd placed Chiefs at 12 wins.
So if you lose more than 4 games, you aint gonna get a home semi.
If the Stormers lose their next two games, they can only afford one more loss for the rest of the season. And both the Brumbies and Crusaders are lined up immediately thereafter. And they still need to tour…
25 Feb 2013, 15:36 pm
Tac wouldn’t have been here today if the Bulls had lost
Make the most of the gravitas, peeps
25 Feb 2013, 15:37 pm
@rossoneri-326:
Doesn’t Taute play for the Stormers?
Or is there more than one?
25 Feb 2013, 15:37 pm
@rossoneri-323: Against the Sharks you mean. Could be blessing in disguise although he should of been dropped for Joe in any case.
25 Feb 2013, 15:37 pm
@Dawn-328:
I like to engage from a position of power…
25 Feb 2013, 15:38 pm
@Tacitus-331:
I know you that well.
25 Feb 2013, 15:39 pm
@Tacitus-320:
Kennedy Tsimba comes to mind.
He was quite good for the Cheetahs, got bought by the Bulls and after a couple of games on the bench disappeared from the radar.
kirchner scored the winning try for Griekwas against the Bulls Vodacom , next moment he is a Bull.
At that stage Roets was full back and Zane was surplus.
The fact that Roets retired unexpectedly caught everybody by surprise, Zane got a lucky break there and to be fair to him, he used it, but I don’t believe he would have gotten a chance if Roets didn’t suddenly decide to call it quits.
25 Feb 2013, 15:39 pm
@Transformation-325: The police are saying there is nothing between the teams, the player’s mother just gave the ref a slap.
25 Feb 2013, 15:39 pm
@nortierd-324:
Agree Nortie. They never complain about the schedule, travel, time zones, flight socks or whatever.
They just turn up and play the game and whether they win or lose, they do so graciously.
25 Feb 2013, 15:40 pm
@gunther-314: Grooming him for Ireland?
25 Feb 2013, 15:42 pm
@Dawn-329: Sorry Dawn. I meant against the Sharks. But yeah. He won’t be available. Groin injury. Joe will probably start, which means there is someone on the field to bail Jantjies out if he has a bad kicking day again.
25 Feb 2013, 15:42 pm
@Tacitus-312: Yip its called a pecking order and it allows players to bide their time and really push hard to get a starting spot. Fouche has done his time therefore he gets a bench spot ahead of Pollard.
25 Feb 2013, 15:44 pm
@Sasuke-338:
That’s stupid, in my view. Because if doing your time still doesn’t bring out star quality, then you should make way for the younger guy who DOES have star quality.
That’s probably how we lost CJ Stander, only to be stuck with guys that break down every 2 games.
25 Feb 2013, 15:44 pm
@Sasuke-338:
When does pecking order become surplus?
Pointless buying too many players if you can’t use them or don’t plan on using them.
25 Feb 2013, 15:45 pm
@Tacitus-327:
Yes, 12 sounds about right.
Depends on whether you were able to collect bonus points in most of them though.
Also if you can get 2 bonus points in every game you lose, you may even be able to drop one more game and still end up on top.
25 Feb 2013, 15:47 pm
@nama1-341:
Well if I recall correctly the Chiefs scored plenty of bonuspoints, so if they didn’t maybe 12 woudlnt have been enough to get top spot. So maybe 12 plus bonuspoints or 13 without lots of bonuspoints is kind of the rule of thumb.
Then again, we know the Stormers can’t score 4 tries against decent opposition to save their lives at the moment.
25 Feb 2013, 15:47 pm
@Sasuke-338:
Maybe that’s why the Aussies pick teenagers if they have the talent.
They probably figure that somewhere in the past their forefathers already did time, so why punish the later generations
25 Feb 2013, 15:52 pm
@nortierd-318:
He’ll be on the bench, as he was last week…
25 Feb 2013, 15:53 pm
@rossoneri-337:
Joe should’ve started ahead of Taute on Friday already. Why he leapfrogged Joe I really don’t know.
25 Feb 2013, 15:54 pm
@mxhosa-344:
Thanks
Didn’t know he was even studying there.
Thought he came to Pretoria as a pro Bulls player and nothing else
25 Feb 2013, 15:55 pm
@nama1-345:
Joe Pietersen is a really good Super Rugby player. I’ve seldom seen him put a foot wrong. In fact, he is a much more polished performer than Taute, and probably has more pace than Taute too.
Taute just beats him in the physicality stakes and in hitting the line hard. I was glad to see Taute instead of Pietersen lined up against us on Friday.
25 Feb 2013, 15:59 pm
Hehehehe
Funny how some Bulls here work out when the stormers will be out assuming we will lose certain games! I remember same sentiment last year where the Bulls simply counted the blues as a win in the beginning of the campaign only to come up short and not knowing how to “predict” their season anymore.
Don’t count no chickens, because I have a feeling this year will not be that great for the SA sides.
Nothing that I saw made me happy for BOK rugby and I only got the feeling that aus and NZ are moving further away from us.
25 Feb 2013, 16:01 pm
@Hoops-348:
When one’s team doesn’t do well, one is always quick with the sentiment that its going to be a bad year for “SA sides”.
Newsflash: The Stormers do not equate to “SA sides”. They’re just one SA side.
25 Feb 2013, 16:01 pm
@Sasuke: so how did jaque potgieter get FASTTRACKED so quick @ the bulle leapfrogging baby bok cappie cj stander amongst many?
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