Kings players angry promises taken away Kempson —
Stressed Southern Kings players are angry because everything that was promised to them was taken away in the blink of an eye, Kings interim head coach Robbi Kempson said.
In the wake of the shock decision to voluntarily withdraw from the Currie Cup last week, stressed players have all had one-on-one meetings with Kempson to talk about the road ahead for the cashstrapped franchise.
Angry players are also having their mental health monitored by health experts after last week’s shock decision to pull the team out of the competition which is set to kick off later this month.
“It was very tough for the players when they got the news they were not playing in the Currie Cup,” Kempson said.
“That happened on the Monday and I had a meeting with my group leaders shortly after that and then I had a oneon-one with each player.
“The players were devastated. They still are.
“They are angry because everything that was promised to them was taken away in the blink of an eye and no-one saw it coming.
“You know we were still trying to contract players like Stefan Ungerer and others to join us to make sure we had a full squad going into the competition.
“And none of us saw the fact that we would not be playing in the competition coming at all.
“It was a real shock to the system for everyone and I must say the players have handled it remarkably well, considering what has happened.”
Kempson said he agreed that decision to pull out of the Currie Cup had been the correct one and that Kings chair Andre Rademan had done his best to keep players updated.
“Everyone can always have more communication, but I think Andre and fellow board member Jannie Louw have done their best to ensure we are updated as much as possible with regards to how things are progressing.
“I think that is very important.
“Obviously, the board needs to meet to make those decisions, so we wait for them to meet again and then hopefully get feedback on potentially what might happen going forward. It think the understanding of it is important.
“It is difficult when Andre Rademan was standing in front of the players trying to explain everything.
“It is much easier to have one-on-ones and explaining it, which I did.
“This was regarding the fact that they had promised to honour contracts.
“The withdrawal was because they could still pay the players going forward, and not incur more debt and liability to the company.
“Every conversation or indication we have had with any member of the board, be it Andre Rademan or Jannie Louw, who came to address us last week, the indication is that the salaries will be paid and they will be honoured going forward.
“No-one, at any stage, has said anything but that, so the players are going on the premise that that is a fact and will remain that way.”
Rademan said if the Kings had played in the Currie Cup they would require additional loans to the Kings or extra investment from the shareholders to the tune of R6.5m.
That, he said, would add to the organisation’s substantial existing debt.
On Tuesday the Bulls announced that they had signed Kings loose forward Elrigh Louw in what is believed to be a two-year deal.
Another Kings player who will be looking to impress in the Currie Cup is loose forward Thembelani Bholi, who has joined Griquas on a loan deal.