Stakeholders meet to pick Kings board

Rugby bosses will gather on Thursday to appoint a new board to take charge of the Isuzu Southern Kings, EP Rugby president Andre Rademan said.

The new Kings owners will hold a presentation on “The Way Forward” for the franchise on Thursday evening at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

Rademan said EPRU members, the business consortium and board members will attend the meeting on Thursday morning ahead of the presentation.

The Kings Pro14 team will be run by a board consisting of four consortium members, two EPRU members and three independent directors.

The process on how the independent directors will be appointed has not been revealed.

One decision facing the board is to find a replacement for Kings chief operation officer Charl Crous who is leaving the franchise to work for Pro14 in Ireland.

After months of speculation, SA Rugby announced on Friday that they had sold a 74% shareholding in SA Super Rugby (Pty) Ltd, the Kings’ holding company, to a company called The Greatest Rugby Company (GRC) in the Whole Wide World (Pty) Ltd.

The Eastern Province Rugby Union (EPRU) has acquired the balance of 26% of the shares.

Rademan said the fact that the EPRU was a shareholder and would ensure continuity for rugby in the region.

The deal was completed following the conclusion of agreement on the commercial terms.

SA Rugby had taken control of the Isuzu Southern Kings in November 2015 when the EPRU, to whom the operation of the franchise had been granted, ran into financial trouble.

The owners of GRC are Eastern Cape businesspeople Loyiso Dotwana, Gary Markson, Rory Stear, Kenny Govender and Vuyo Zitumane.

Rademan said the fact that the EPRU was a shareholder would ensure continuity for rugby in the region.

The Kings have a bye this weekend before travelling to Ireland to face Ulster on March 23.