Super Rugby future of Southern Kings to be known soon
The South African Rugby Union (Saru) says it will announce details of its future plans for the Southern Kings ahead of the 2016 Super Rugby tournament early next week.
This comes after Saru released a statement on Monday confirming that they established an operational implementation task group to oversee the running of the Southern Kings franchise in Super Rugby.
“We have made major progress in preparing an implementation plan for the Vodacom Super Rugby franchise,” Saru CEO Jurie Roux said in a statement following a meeting of a task team at Saru’s offices.
“We have addressed issues around on-field and off-field structures and preparations and are now moving through our governance and communication processes with stakeholders.
“I expect that process to be completed by early next week – after we have informed the Saru Exco – after which time we will be able to reveal all the details to the rugby public of Port Elizabeth and the Eastern Cape.
“We know the franchise has been slow out of the blocks, but there was a spring in everyone’s step at the conclusion of today’s meeting. We’re optimistic about the road ahead.
The Port Elizabeth based Southern Kings was formally announced at the opening of the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on June 16 2009.
According to Super XV, the Southern Kings franchise area would be made up of Eastern Cape, and parts of the Western Cape. They will draw players from 3 provincial unions, namely the Mighty Elephants, based in Port Elizabeth, Border Bulldogs, based in East London and Eagles, based in George. - ANA
(Photo: Southern Kings)