The South African Rugby Union (SARU) has agreed to step in and assist the Eastern
Province Rugby Union by taking control of the Southern Kings Super Rugby franchise.
The action followed through a decision taken by the Executive Council of SARU
some weeks ago to step into the Kings’ affairs if certain expectations were
not realised.
The decision was actioned as a result of the on-going cash flow problems at
the Union after the president of EP, Mr Cheeky Watson, contacted Mr Oregan Hoskins,
the president of SARU, to ask him to assist.
“We gave the Kings as long as possible to resolve their issues through
their own efforts but the point had been reached where they could wait no longer,”
said Mr Oregan Hoskins, president of SARU.
“It is a decision we have had to take reluctantly but it is now 102 days
until Super Rugby moves into a new era with new teams and new nations
taking part and we collectively agreed we could not allow South Africa’s
new entrant to be under-prepared.”
Jurie Roux, CEO of SARU, said that the organisation had undertaken some contingency
planning in the event of SARU being required to take control and those plans
would now be put into operation.
“We have already had conversations around off-field and on-field preparations
but I don’t want to mislead anyone, there is still much to do,”
said Roux.
“For the moment we will be working behind the scenes to sort out the
various issues that we need to address. In the meantime we would thank the rugby
fans of Port Elizabeth and the Eastern Cape for their patience and to have just
a little more while we finalise those plans.
“I hope that we will be able to reveal the new management processes of
the Kings and other details in a week or two. For the moment, our focus is on
sorting out the finances and identifying the playing and coaching needs for
Super Rugby participation.”
The Southern Kings kick off their Super Rugby campaign with a home match against
the Sharks at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on 27 February 2016.
