Luckless Kings a dead franchise walking
In 2016 the Kings franchise was hamstrung by a legal battle with former players who had not been paid. The South African Rugby Union (Saru) took over the administration and, even though the franchise managed to raise a team for its 15 games, it won just two of them. But if you thought the Kings had nothing to play for last season, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
Sanzaar (South Africa New Zealand Argentina Australia Rugby) is restructuring the unwieldy and unpopular 18-team Super Rugby format. Consultants Accenture are putting together models for the future of the competition, at least two of which see no future for the Kings.
One model suggests that South Africa and Australia lose one team each to reduce the tournament to 16 teams. Another says Australia should lose two teams; a third wants South Africa to lose two teams. Yet another model, the Oprah Winfrey one perhaps, says that everybody gets a franchise and that, instead of contracting, the event should expand to 20 teams to allow a North American franchise.
In the event that some form of logic prevails, the Kings is a dead franchise walking. As the last side to be admitted, it should be the first out. The Kings will be joined on the scrapheap by either the Rebels or the Force. The Rebels were the last of the five Australian sides to join, in 2011, and their results have never come close to justifying their inclusion.
It’s possible that the Force will be the team to be cut, and for similar reasons to the Kings. Last season the Australian Rugby Union paid A$800 000 to bail out the Perth franchise. But the union cannot continue to pour good money after bad, particularly because, as with Saru, it is battling to attract sponsors.
The implosion of the Kings was a result of a major sponsorship falling through. Their quality players have jumped ship and what remains is a hotchpotch of talented youngsters, many of them black, and journeymen players who have been rejected by other franchises. It is unlikely that the squad will improve on last year’s results and, by this time next year, the Kings will be consigned to the dustbin of history.