SARU to ‘export’ the Kings

Unwanted as a Super Rugby franchise, the South African Rugby Union is expected to ‘export’ the Eastern Cape’s Southern Kings to some of the most far-flung corners of the globe.

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SARU President Oregan Hoskins has revealed his rather ambitious plans of lining up international opposition from South America and the Far East in a bid to get the Kings onto the international stage.

Hoskins told the SuperSport website that the Kings could face the likes of Argentina and Japan, as he continues the drive to get regular opposition for the Eastern Cape franchise.

The Southern Kings were launched when they played against the British and Irish Lions in June.

However, the SARU president believes that the national body will have to take a more pro-active approach in the franchise, especially given the volatility of the management of the three provincial unions making up the team.

Melbourne recently won the right to become the 15th team in an expanded Super Rugby competition, but have already run into trouble with financial backing withdrawing in a protracted battle with the Australian Rugby Union.

Still, even though the Kings were hurt by SANZAR’s ruling against them, it didn’t stop them from representing their country on the international stage and Hoskins hopes to convince SARU’s general council to accept his proposal – which will see them play regularly from 2010.

There was some talk of the Kings joining the Magners League, but this has simply been talk at this stage.

“When I was in Port Elizabeth the other day, I had a chat to Eastern Province president Cheeky Watson, who has been very prominent in the development of the Southern Kings,” Hoskins told SuperSport.

“I was looking at possibilities of finding an alternative to the Super Rugby competition for the Kings and one of the possibilities – and I must stress that it is only a possibility at this stage – is to try and find a place in the Northern Hemisphere for the Kings.

“When I was on the end-of-year tour with the Springboks, I had exploratory talks with the ERC [European Rugby Cup] and the agent who has the rights for the Magners League. I also spoke to the president of the Irish Rugby Union, and they all seemed very positive about the idea.

“It sounded like it was more of a question of how much we would be able to pay to make it a viable proposition.

“We promised to take the matter back to our council and our sponsors. In principle, we have already promised to assist in finding a solution. We know the issue of the sixth franchise is a divisive issue if it is not sorted out.

“Cheeky was quite positive and he sounded like he was buying into the concept, because it would finally and truly get things moving in terms of the Kings.”

Hoskins said that in the short-term he was looking at more practical measures to ensure there was game time for players in the franchise.

“What I foresee at this stage is playing friendly matches next year for the Kings. I’m talking about serious alternatives. We saw in the Springbok midweek matches against Saracens and Leicester that those were not Mickey Mouse games, they were serious contenders and those clubs in Europe are massive entities in their own right.

“I think there is a possibility that we can have some serious games next year. Andy Marinos has informed me that Argentina want to play a game next year.

“The exciting thing as well is that Japan have invited us to play a game against them next year. Obviously we can’t play the Springboks against them, and they understand it.

“There is another possibility, and this I still need to discuss with the council, that we use the Kings to play that game, either in Japan or in South Africa. We’re celebrating 100 years of relations between South Africa and Japan and they are very keen on a high-profile game.

“I think we can organise some formidable games for the Kings next year. We have to get serious about this. We must realise that the government have given us some slack, and we mustn’t delay in that. We need to get cracking. I’m personally trying to drive this issue, because I know how important this is for South African rugby.”