It’s Booi oh Booi for Kings grand hopes
Benneton in
After the Kings late entry in the Pro14, Booi and the Kings coaching team had to work around the clock to ensure that the team was ready for their first match against the Scarlets in Wales.
“The coaches have been working tirelessly to get everyone on board with the structures and systems. It has been a real challenge, but we have met it.
“The coaches have been keeping everything at basic level purely because it’s a new thing. So we did not want to complicate anything so we will be able to progress, as time goes on, to a more advanced approach,” said Booi.
Booi made his first-class debut for the Border Bulldogs in 2001 and represented them in the Vodacom Cup and Currie Cup competitions over the next three seasons.
He made four appearances for the South Africa U21s in 2001, and was called up to the Sharks squad for the 2003 and 2004 Super Rugby seasons, making five appearances.
Towards the end of 2003, however, he left the Bulldogs to join the Pumas on a short spell, before joining Griquas in 2004.
As a Griquas player, he was also called into the Cats squad for the 2005 Super 12 season, making 10 appearances.
Booi had a stint for his third different Super Rugby team in as many seasons in 2006, when he ran out for the Stormers.
He also played a few games for Western Province in the 2006 Vodacom Cup before returning to Griquas for the 2006 Currie Cup.
He was named in the Stormers’ 2007 Super 14 season squad, but failed to make an appearance. He was involved in club rugby for Villagers for the rest of 2007 and 2008, before he returned to his first team, the Border Bulldogs, where he eventually played in a century of games.
Booi said the Eastern Cape was blessed with an abundance of talent and he looked forward to seeing how current Kings players progressed.
Asked whether a player like flyhalf Oliver Zono could make the step up from Currie Cup First Division to Pro14 with the Italy and Glasgow in Scotland. Kings, Booi said: “For sure. We are blessed with talent in the Eastern Cape. The Border region is known as a factory of talent for South Africa.
“If you look at the past Super Rugby season, we had players like Makazole Mapimpi from Border coming through and making a big step up for the Southern Kings.
“Zono is one of those players and this is a massive opportunity for him. He is a very talented player and with the exposure he is getting at this level I am sure he will make the step up.
“He is a very good attacking player, and with ball in hand, he will beat any defender in front of him.
“He can also identify space, so he is a well-rounded player in terms of his attacking skills.”
Apart from Zono, other Bulldogs players in the Kings squad are Masixole Banda (utility back), Michael Makase (wing), Siya Mdaka (flank) and Lindohuhle Welemu (lock).
“The amount of talent that the Eastern Cape has is phenomenal. There is potential for growth in this region and that offers the guys the chance of getting exposure. There is room for a lot of growth at the Kings.”
Booi will be hoping that some of that growth starts to manifest during the Kings’ tour to Europe.
Southern Kings chief operations operating officer Charl Crous said: “The appointment of Booi further shows the quality of rugby personnel that the province of the Eastern Cape has.
“We are grateful to the Border Rugby Union for working with us in ensuring that Booi makes the transition to the Southern Kings despite their own Currie Cup First Division campaign.”
Kings head coach Deon Davids also welcomed the new management recruit.
“Chumani Booi is one of the respected coaches in the country, who comes with good experience from having coached the Border Bulldogs and the South Africa ‘A’ side.
“We look forward to him taking Southern Kings rugby forward,” said Davids.