Super Rugby rookies the Southern Kings have spat the dummy, claiming their ability to recruit players for 2013 has been “severely hampered”.
Rugby365
They also revealed that the relegated Lions franchise has effectively given them the finger, refusing to entertain a request to loan the Kings players for their debut in Super Rugby next year.
In a statement in which they set out to explain why they want the South African Rugby Union to give them special dispensation to recruit more than the regulation two foreign players, the Kings claim they have had to embark on the route of “recruiting players in an abnormal manner”.
They slam SARU for the delay in announcing their entry into Super Rugby, adding that the one-year window afforded to them is not enough to secure players who are keen to obtain long-term contracts.
The statement, headlined ‘Trying to contract in an abnormal environment’, highlighted the “uncertainty and delay” of the announcement of the Southern Kings’ participation, as well as “financial constraints” as the main reasons for their problems with recruiting.
The Southern Kings’ statement in full: “Trying to contract in an abnormal environment
“The decision of granting us, Southern Kings, participation in Super Rugby from 2013 has been met with a welcome relief. However, our ability to recruit Super Rugby players for 2013 has been severely hampered:
* the uncertainty and delay of the announcement of the Southern Kings’ participation meant that many players were reluctant to sign their names of the dotted line
* the financial constraints (Super Rugby financial revenue streams and uncertainty regarding basis (amount and term) has limited our ability on how long we could contract players for
“We have been very vocal about our desires to develop and promote local talent, and in particular to accelerate the transformation of South African Rugby and to develop quality black Springboks. As a result we have put a strong focus on developing and maintaining an Academy which is made up of predominantly home grown talent, with a strong commitment to a bottom-up transformation strategy.
“Despite being unable to retain the most of our local talent without the attraction of Super Rugby until now, we are confident with the strides that our Academy has made and it is evident already that it is starting to bear fruits.
“Already we have a number of players in the Academy who will be part of the Super Rugby squad for 2013. Soyiswapi Siviwe (15) Yamkela Ngam (14) Kuhle Sonkosi (4) Lizo Gqoboka (3/1), Thembelani Bholi (6) and Shane Gates (12) have all been identified by our Management team (who all have Super Rugby and international experience) as players who have the technique, acumen and physical characteristics to become quality Super Rugby players.
“There is a precedent in place that SANZAR member countries are only allowed to field two international players. The ARU (also members of SANZAR) have made an exception to this rule by allowing heir newly formed Melbourne Rebels to field more foreign players in their team.
“The motivation for this was to prevent the destabilizing effect of initial mass recruitment from other franchises, when a new franchise starts. Due to SARU making the announcement of our participation on 16/8/2012 it has led to us having difficulty with recruiting players due to:
* The European window period for recruiting players being closed (with the only available players being those out of contracts)- interested South African players are only available in May 2013, by which time we’ll be too deep into the competition
* The delayed announcement has seen many local players whose contracts expired this year renew their contracts
* The Lions refusing to entertain our request to loan us players for the 2013 Super Rugby campaign
* The one-year entry into Super Rugby and without a track record, has impacted our ability to recruit players
“It is in light of the above, that we have had to embark on the route of recruiting players in an abnormal manner, and with our desire and aspirations of having long-term participation in Super Rugby we are requesting SARU to extend/ alter the current ruling of only fielding two foreign players, for a short-term, thus allowing us the time to adequately prepare our young players for the demands and pressures of Super Rugby, as well as giving us the opportunity to contract players in a normal manner going into the future.
“It is important that we field quality players who will be able to see us through the 2013 Super Rugby competition, and with the current plethora of challenges facing us we have no alternative but to make this urgent request to SARU.”
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September 21st, 2012 at 9:20 pm
Nobody forced them to accept SARU’s
conditions – silly as they may be.
It seems the consequences has
suddenly dawned on them.
September 21st, 2012 at 10:04 pm
Reply to Boertjie @ 9:20 pm:
Take what you can get and then fight in the meantime for a fair chance. If they didn’t accept the chance the EC would be put back years even decades before they got another one.
No, enough is enough. 2 S15 franchises next door to each other is just wrong, especially when one is the perennial wooden spooner
September 22nd, 2012 at 3:16 am
Cheeky is not honest not his intentions are wrong.
He has marketed this controversy on transformation and local talent yet we shall see a pretty foreign white team run out in S15. What a c0ck sucker. Really dude now you want to poach other teams players and overseas players goes against everything you have marketed your hijacking on.
You can see Cheecky is ANC, masquerading as a champion of the disadvantaged but just building a Empire, a Marikana empire, full of promises but just self centered egotism.
Still not enough though for me to support an Anzac team over a Saffa team though. Oh and yes I still think Luke would have made a great Bok player except for his ego.
September 22nd, 2012 at 11:04 am
Thyey can fornicate themselves
September 22nd, 2012 at 9:20 pm
Reply to Kevin Rack @ 3:16 am:
Do yourself a favour and go and listen to the Cheeky interview on ballz radio, with the short notice that the Kings are in the S15 and only for a year they have no choice but to hire in experienced players to start off and then bring their academy players through later.
Please inform yourselves before guessing and coming up with illogical conclusions.
September 22nd, 2012 at 10:16 pm
Their U19 side today smashed the Pumas
September 22nd, 2012 at 11:46 pm
Reply to Ollie @ 9:20 pm:
So why did he not ask SARU:
“Give us a year to find sponsors and
players before we play S15?”
Now he acts the asshole that was
forced into S15.
September 23rd, 2012 at 2:25 am
Reply to Ollie @ 9:20 pm: I shall listen. I agree on relegation and expecially transformation. The more black players the better so we can grow the game in this supporters base and competition is good.
I would have prefered seeing Griquas been rewarded for their good work and relegation not been used as punishment but rather reward. Way too BEE/AA cadre entitlement physcology for me.
He has forced his way up the ladder taking the team of way out of its league and is now crying that he does not have the players to compete. Doh!
I could tell you, uniformed of course, that jumping from Vodacom(have they ever won a final in this lower league?) cup to S15 is a mistake and you need quality players to do so. Uninformed of course. Thats logic for me.
September 23rd, 2012 at 3:35 am
Reply to Ollie @ 9:20 pm:
Er mate… you seriously trying to defend Cheeky Watson’s intentions and then suggesting others ‘inform themselves’ first…
How about you inform yourself of the Billions of Rands ALL the Watson’s pilfered from deserving miners in one of the biggest BEE share-swop scandals since Brett Kebble was born…
I suppose Jake White was making up the claims that Watson attempted to black-mail him into selecting his son…
I suppose Peter De Villiers was making up the claim that Watson with his ANC ‘comrade’ attempted to black-mail him with a ‘sex-tape’ and the only link ‘suspiciously’ died in a freak light air-craft crash a few days later…
I could go on and on…
But of course he is the messiah of the cradle of black rugby… innit!
September 23rd, 2012 at 11:42 am
Reply to bryce_in_oz @ 3:35 am:
Ah, you sure made my day!
September 24th, 2012 at 9:23 am
Reply to bryce_in_oz @ 3:35 am:
Uh, no mate. Don’t confuse my support of the Kings and the predicament that they find themselves in as support for Cheeky Watson.
I don’t trust him one bit, but so far what he has said matches exactly what has happened and is the situation the Kings are in. I would be far happier if somebody else was at the helm, but they’re not, so be it.
I’m not going to judge the Kings on one man, there is a whole lot more to the situation than Cheeky’s ego. I’m not a Bulls supporter who disappears when the going get’s tough.
September 24th, 2012 at 9:26 am
Reply to Kevin Rack @ 2:25 am:
It’s all about funding (read money) and that is the curse of the professional era. You can only afford to contract the players that your budget allows, you can only put so many players into the academy that your budget allows, you can only higher the quality of coaching staff that you budget allows.
Griqua’s would have the same problem, no money, no players, no academy, therefore big uphill battle.
September 24th, 2012 at 9:29 am
I see eveybody is ignoring my question though, what are the Lions scared of, they have a massive financial problem an numerous off field problems. They now have a year to sort their shit out and then they have a very fair chance of getting back into the S15 and staying there. What is the big fuss? 1 season!
September 24th, 2012 at 10:58 am
Reply to Ollie @ 9:29 am: Politics cos once they are out SARU can just change the rules and then lock the Lions out altogether.
Politicians change flipflop on any agreements. Hell we have a majority government who’s mandate is for the poor yet they dont do as much for the poor as they could.
So what the Lions fear is one they are out they are locked out.
September 24th, 2012 at 11:15 am
Reply to Kevin Rack @ 10:58 am:
So what you are saying is that they fear the very people they conspired with for years to look after themselves at the cost of rugby in SA in general.
Cry me a river.
September 24th, 2012 at 11:43 am
Reply to Ollie @ 11:15 am:
Sorry, that should read, “They can cry me a river”
September 24th, 2012 at 3:00 pm
Eish, anybody awake out there?
September 24th, 2012 at 3:24 pm
Ollie
I’m here boet…
Cheers
September 24th, 2012 at 11:00 pm
Reply to Ollie @ 9:29 am:
They now have a year to sort their shit out and then they have a very fair chance of getting back into the S15 and staying there.
——–
The old saying – something about moving
goal posts – comes to mind.
Nothing is above Saru. Reminds me of a young
dog rolling over and pissing itself when the
master speaks loud.
For “master” read “ANC.”
September 25th, 2012 at 11:44 am
Reply to Boertjie @ 11:00 pm:
If what you say about the master is remotely true then your smallest concern should be the Kings/Lions affair.