EP Kings players lay down the law

FED-UP Eastern Province Kings players have gone on strike after delivering a petition demanding that union president Cheeky Watson step down.

They are also unhappy at the intervention by the SA Rugby Union (Saru), which has taken over the King’s Super Rugby franchise.

And adding to the union’s woes, the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Ratepayers’ Association is taking the provincial body to court over alleged illegal interest-free loans paid to the Kings by the metro amounting to R8.2-million.

The petition was signed by 28 of the 46 Kings players who are refusing to train.

Calling themselves the “Black & Red Army”, the players said they had no trust in Saru’s administrative intervention.

Kings players, staff and management salaries have gone unpaid since September while Watson has shouldered the blame for failing to secure a sponsor, barely three months before the start of Super Rugby.

The memorandum stated: “The EP Kings players have no confidence in Mr Cheeky Watson . . . We also have no confidence in the Saru plan, as this will only cater to a very small percentage of current Kings players.”

There is also a clause stating: “I will not work for EP Rugby (Pty) Limited, EP Rugby Union, Southern Kings (Pty) Limited or Saru . . . until all players’ outstanding salaries are fully paid by December 18.”

Saru is meant to finalise contracts for 50 Super Rugby players this week.

Watson did not respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, the Kings have until next weekend to respond to a notice filed by the association to have the court order an investigation into the alleged corrupt relationship between the metro, the Kings and Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium managers Access Management.

CEO Charl Crous allegedly admitted that the union owed R20-million to creditors and about R40-million in loans from Saru and Access Management.

Mayor Danny Jordaan declined to discuss the matter.