No quick cure for struggling EP rugby — Antonie
In the wake of two crushing defeats suffered by EP’s Elephants at the hands of Currie Cup Premier Division opposition, EP Rugby president Gerald Antonie has warned there is no quick-fix solution.
EP have found the going tough in the SA Cup tournament, losing 61-0 to the Pumas and 59-26 to the Cheetahs, when they faced Currie Cup Premier Division opposition.
“The SA Cup is a learning curve because EP are in a building process,” Antonie said.
“It is a curve for EP and all the other lower-tier First Division teams playing against Currie Cup Premier Division opponents in the SA Cup.
“The SA Cup will strengthen the development of SA rugby and it will lead to more young talent being identified as Springbok candidates.
“We want to to build the foundations of EP rugby and we know it will take a bit of time.
“But at a junior level, we are now busy getting stability and we want to bring the message out to the senior team. EP are hosting the Grant Khomo junior tournament in June at Grey High School and the FNB festivals that we played here went very well.
“I think this is changing the perception towards EP.
“We want to bring changes with the new administration.”
Snubbed by SA Rugby bosses when Springbok Tests were awarded for 2024, Antonie says his new administration is busy repairing damaged relations with SA Rugby.
This could be a topic of conversation when EP resumes its adjourned annual meeting at Cillié High School on Saturday.
Antonie said EP reached out to SA Rugby to build strong relations at a general council meeting in Johannesburg last month where a wide range of issues were discussed.
A more positive mood towards EP by the mother body was manifested when SA Rugby deputy president Francois Davids was at the union’s adjourned annual meeting last month.
Davids said he would push for Gqeberha to host a Springbok Test match at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium as soon as possible.
After former president Maasdorp Cannon was suspended by SA Rugby for calling it a racist organisation last year, relations between EP and the mother body became strained.
It was thought Gqeberha would win the right to stage a Test against Portugal this year, but SA Rugby decided it would be played in Bloemfontein.
This decision was another slap in EP’s face as it continued to be viewed as an outsider on the national stage because of internal politics.
“In the meeting we had with the SA Rugby council in Johannesburg during March, EP reached out to SA Rugby,” Antonie said.
“We made it clear we wanted to repair all relations with the mother body.
“EP is trying to be part of the landscape like it used to be in the past where we could play Tests.
“Our school systems and universities are performing.
“One of our big challenges is that our provincial teams are not delivering when they play.
“EP used to be a Test union and we had a franchise and we are now in the CC First Division of SA Rugby.”
Asked if there were backstabbers in EP rugby, Antonie said: “Everyone has his democratic right to think.
“When it comes to leadership you do not belong to a club or a school.
“You belong to an organisation that carries the interests of the province.
“For me, it does not revolve around one or two clubs.
“It revolves around 121 clubs and the community and the 400 schools that need to be served.
“Rugby is a model where we can attract people and create jobs.
“If we can stage a Test in Gqeberha we can boost development and bring academies into the plan.”