Demotion of EP Kings a R7m blow:
NEW EP Rugby Union boss Andre Rademan has estimated that the demotion of the EP Kings from the Currie Cup Premier Division to the lower First Division has cost the union about R7-million.
The Kings were relegated after failing to win any of the eight matches they played in the Premier Division last season when they were hastily assembled after a cash crisis hit the union.
This is one of many challenges that Rademan inherited when he won a tense election battle against George Malgas, Tony McKeever and Stag Mitchell at the weekend.
“We were in the Premier Division and we were downgraded to the First Division and that cost us in the vicinity of R7-million which we cannot afford to lose,” Rademan said.
“But can we go back to the Premier Division?” Rademan asked. “Of course we can by playing ourselves back. How do we do that? That is why I immediately want to start getting role players in.
“We have so much talent in the schools that we can tap into and bring those players into club rugby. Our Currie Cup will be forced to use three, four or five of our club players in the Currie Cup squad.
“Don’t tell me they are not good enough or they are amateur.
“There is Curwin Bosch who is 19 years old and a boy from Alexandria. So the talent is there. Bring them and give them the opportunity. By doing that we will play ourselves back into the Premier Division.”
Asked what he thought about the possibility of the Kings not being in Super Rugby next year, Rademan said: “There are so many implications that I do not want to dwell a lot on it. It is a sensitive issue at this point. We are going to negotiate with SA Rugby on this and this is all I want to say now.”
The axing of the Kings from Super Rugby next year moved a step closer when Sanzaar announced it would be trimming Super Rugby to 15 teams and that South Africa’s participation would be cut from six to four teams.
Though the Kings and Cheetahs were not named, it is widely believed the axe will fall on them.
SA Rugby said it would now begin internal consultations to identify its four entrants to the 2018 competition.
Officials said it was hoped that SA Rugby would be able to confirm its Super Rugby participants for next year by the end of June.
The decision to trim the league came on the same day that the Kings were narrowly beaten 46-41 by the Western Force in Perth.
Kings chief operating officer Charl Crous said it was premature to assume that the Kings would not be among South Africa’s four franchises to appear in Super Rugby next year.
“No decision has been made on that question as yet. Various options on the way forward will have to be assessed,” he said.
“As advised by SA Rugby, the Franchise Committee will first consider the criteria on which the decision is to be made. After that, both the executive council and general council will take a view before any announcement is made.
“At the moment we can only control what we can control and that is out on the field where I believe Kings head coach Deon Davids’s team have continued to show an upward curve this season.
“We are a professional organisation that takes pride in what we do and we will continue to remain focused on bringing credit to the Southern Kings and the province of the Eastern Cape,” Crous said.