Gqoboka gets early shot at Super Rugby
Coach Stick believes this year’s Vodacom Cup season making of team
EP KINGS prop, Lizo Gqoboka, may get a taste of Super Rugby even before the Southern Kings return to the international competition next year.
Officials announced today that the 25-year-old Kings player will link up with the Cheetahs after the central franchise and EP reached a loan agreement. The Cheetahs have suffered a number of front-row injuries, requiring bolstering in this department from outside resources.
Gqoboka will train with the Cheetahs Super Rugby squad and could be included in the starting line-up for the match against the Lions, when they clash in Bloemfontein on May 23.
“It was always our intention to retain our players for the Vodacom Cup this season, but now that our campaign is over, we welcome this opportunity for Lizo in a loan agreement with the Cheetahs,” EP Rugby chief executive Charl Crous said.
Crous confirmed that the agreement was in place only for the remainder of the Super Rugby season, with Gqoboka returning to the Kings for the start of the Currie Cup in August.
Gqoboka was thrilled to receive this opportunity to experience the southern hemisphere competition.
“I was really only expecting to first play Super Rugby next year (when the Southern Kings return to the compe- tition), so this has come early and it is a dream come true for me,” Gqoboka said. “I am looking forward to joining the Cheetahs and will continue to work hard to prove myself.”
Earlier this month Gqoboka’s standing in the national pecking order was shown, when he became the only player from a non-Super Rugby franchise to be included in the Springbok training squads. He took part in the training camp from May 3 to 6 and will also attend the next Bok squad training camp from May 31 to June 3.
“I learnt so much from the guys and all about the Springbok culture, so it really has been an exciting month for me.”
AFTER a season of ups and downs which saw his team crash out of the Vodacom Cup before the quarterfinals, EP Kings coach Mzwandile Stick said he would not have done anything differently.
The Kings could only win three of their seven matches and fell short of their pre-season claims that they had the squad to go all the way and win the competition.
Some of the games the Kings lost narrowly and Stick’s men were left to rue missed chances that could have turned close contests.
So, if he had the chance to rewind the clock to the opening day of the season, would Stick have done anything differently?
“Not really. We have done our best as a coaching staff, along with the players, to bring back that winning culture. Sometimes calls on the field did not allow us to have that turning point,” Stick said.
“We are going to learn from this season and make sure we are stronger going forward.
“I want this union to go back to where it belongs in Super Rugby. We are going to keep doing our best.”
With the Vodacom Cup now a thing of the past for the Kings, Stick will hand over the reins to another coach who will be in charge for the Currie Cup Premier Division.
At this stage it is not known whether Carlos Spencer will stay on as head coach or the Kings will bring in new blood to spearhead the Currie Cup campaign.
“My job is also to work with the youngsters at the academy. We are doing our best to build that winning culture and it is going to come.
“We all know Rome was not built in one day, so we are going to have these challenges, but when we look back after three or four years of playing Super Rugby we will say the Vodacom Cup season of 2015 was the season that made us what were are.
“So we are going to make sure we keep our heads up and keep working hard. I am not going to stop working as a coach because I want to make sure this region goes back to where it belongs.
“As a coach I would love to have gone all the way to the Vodacom Cup final. My biggest vision with this union is that I want to prepare for the future.
“Whoever is going to coach Currie Cup or Super Rugby, I want to prepare him so he can get the players he needs. I am working with the youngsters who are part of our system. We have got great youngsters.
“When I see CJ Velleman and Malcolm Jaer in the SA U20 team it puts a smile on my face. Whatever I am doing, it does work, with those boys gaining these achievements.
“That sends a message to the youngsters coming up that it does not mean when you play for the EP Kings the Springbok coach won’t see you .
“We can still produce Springbok players in our region. After three years, we are going to have a squad that dominates and produces Springboks from this region. My job is to prepare this union for that future.”
Stick said the call-up of burly prop Lizo Gqoboka to a Springbok training camp had been a special moment for him.
“To see a guy like Lizo, while I was coaching him, getting a call from Boks was very big. That will stay forever in my life as a coach.
“So I want to be doing something in the players’ hearts and I hope I have done that for some of the players.”
Stick said Gqoboka’s inclusion in the squad was a reward for hard work.
“We have a very good relationship and I have always said there is no replacement for hard work. Lizo has always worked very hard and I have just told him to remain humble and to keep working on his game.”
Despite failing to set the world alight in the Vodacom Cup, Stick said it was not all gloom and doom in EP Rugby. One of his biggest highlights had been seeing the players regaining their best form.
The Kings ended the season with wins over Boland and a Sharks XV.
“A highlight was seeing players regain their confidence after some were down and doubting themselves,” Stick said. “It is great to see players enjoying their rugby and someone like fullback Siviwe Soyizwapi back to where he belongs.
“I also think Simon Kerrod is one of our best props. He is playing well and putting guys under pressure at the scrums. Hopefully they will take that into the Currie Cup.
“So when I see them playing Currie Cup I will at least think I have done something as a coach to make sure they improve in their careers.
“As we know, winning trophies is not everything in life. I have won trophies as a player, and if you ask me about them now I won’t remember some of them.”
Stick has also warned that if the EP Kings want to be a force in the Currie Cup Premier Division later this year they must urgently look to sign a new flyhalf to marshal the team.
“I don’t think the guys who played at No 10 stepped up to the challenge,” Stick said.
“The biggest challenge for the new coaches is to get is to get proper No 10 and guys that can control the game and put us in the right places.”