Southern Kings' future in PRO14 in serious doubt following latest development in Port Elizabeth
Southern Kings’ miserable 2020 has continued with the decision by the club’s financially stricken board to withdraw from any planned domestic competition before the end of the year, a development that places a question mark over their involvement in the 2020/21 Guinness PRO14 season which has a provisional October 3 start date.
With the future of the four South African Super Rugby sides uncertain given how the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in New Zealand and Australia running domestic restart tournaments, there has been much speculation that the Stormers, Lions, Bulls and Sharks could join the PRO14 at the expense of its two existing South African participants, the Kings and the Cheetahs, who signed up in 2017 after being excluded from Super Rugby.
That speculation now appears to have some legs given the latest development in the fraught situation at the Kings where SA Rugby had to take back a 74 per cent shareholding in June after its dalliance with an outside investor came a cropper.
On the pitch, the team, which hasn’t played since a March 1 home loss to Connacht, continued to struggle before the pandemic, winning just once in 13 PRO14 outings in the 2019/20 season which the South African teams have been prevented from restarting in due to the ongoing Covid restrictions in their country.
Explaining the latest events in Port Elizabeth, Andre Rademan, chairman of the Southern Kings board, said: “Following several weeks of interrogation of the Kings’ financial state of affairs we were left with a straightforward choice.
https://twitter.com/SouthernKingsSA/status/1298174942903754753?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
“We could opt to field the Kings in the domestic competitions mooted by SA Rugby for the sport’s post-lockdown resumption if we so wished. If we did so, it would require additional loans to the Kings or extra investment from the shareholders to the tune of R6.5million (£300,000), which would add to the organisation’s existing substantial debt.
“However, as there was no contractual requirement for the Kings to resume short-term participation in the Guinness PRO14 competition, because of air travel restrictions, and as the Kings had no other commercial commitments to honour, the most prudent decision was to withdraw. This may not be a popular decision but in the current circumstances it is the right decision.
“This is obviously very disappointing news for the players and management who, like all rugby professionals, were desperate to resume playing. But the board believed that further investment in 2020 with zero commercial return would be reckless in the extreme.
“As a board we had been considering further short-term contracts to see the squad through to the end of the year. But it became apparent that we would, for want a better phrase, be throwing good money after bad in the current global environment.
“We now have time to consider what is the best way forward for rugby in the Eastern Province in this fluid and financially challenging environment.”
Rademan, who is also president of the EPRU, added that further consultation would take place with the Kings staff in the coming weeks over the next steps for the team.
SA Rugby assumed management control of the Southern Kings in June in partnership with the EPRU following the failure of the former majority shareholder (the Greatest Rugby Company in the Whole Wide World) to meet its financial commitments relating to the acquisition of the shareholding.
Southern Kings timeline:
- November 2010: SA Rugby announces intention to field the Southern Kings in Vodacom Super Rugby in 2013.
- February 2013: Kings compete in the Vodacom Super Rugby competition as one of five South African teams.
- August 2013: Kings lose place in Vodacom Super Rugby in a two-legged play off against the Emirates Lions.
- November 2015: SA Rugby takes control of the franchise when EPRU, to whom the operation of the franchise had been granted, ran into financial trouble.
- February 2016: Kings return to Vodacom Super Rugby when the competition expands to 18 teams.
- April 2017: SANZAAR announces that Vodacom Super Rugby will contract from 18 teams to 15 teams in 2018.
- September 2017: The Kings (and Toyota Cheetahs) are included as South Africa’s ground-breaking representatives in the Guinness PRO14 competition.
- January 2019: GRC acquires 74% shareholding in the franchise; EPRU retain a 26% shareholding.
- June 2020: SA Rugby resumes control of the Southern Kings following the failure of GRC to meet contractual commitments.
- August 2020: Southern Kings withdrawn from potential domestic competition resumption because of on-going financial challenges.
Comments on RugbyPass
late hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
4 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
24 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
24 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
24 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
24 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
28 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
24 Go to comments