Eastern Province Kings

Eastern Province Kings
Full name Eastern Province Kings
Union Eastern Province Rugby Union
Founded 1888
Region Western half of the Eastern Cape, South Africa
Ground(s) Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (Capacity: 48,000)
Director of Rugby Vacant
Coach(es) Barend Pieterse
Captain(s) Schalk Ferreira
League(s) Currie Cup
2016 Currie Cup Premier Division 9th
Team kit
Official website
www.eprugby.co.za
Current season

The Eastern Province Kings are a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup competitions. They are governed by the Eastern Province Rugby Union (EPRU or EP Rugby). The team represents the Western half of the Eastern Cape province, and they play their home games at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth.

History

The team was originally a representative team, drawing players from within the provincial union area's local clubs. However, with the advent of professionalism in rugby union in 1995, the team now directly contracts players from various areas. The team now operates more like a professional club, though the EPRU are still responsible for junior representative rugby teams and administrative matters in the region.

Prior to 2010, they were known as the Mighty Elephants, but in order to align themselves with the Super Rugby side the Southern Kings, who are also governed by the EPRU, they changed their name to Eastern Province Kings. The team is the primary feeder to the Southern Kings, which also incorporates the Border Bulldogs and the SWD Eagles.[1]

Financial problems and liquidation

After late payments of player salaries throughout most of the 2015 season, it came to a head in November 2015, when the EPRU failed to meet a final deadline imposed by the South African Rugby Players Association. All players' contracts were declared null and void, leading to an exodus of players.[2] A few days later, the South African Rugby Union announced that they would take control of the affiliated Southern Kings Super Rugby franchise,[3] and released an operational plan in early December which indicated that SARU would operate the franchise independently from the Eastern Province Kings.[4]

After a petition handed to president Cheeky Watson, in which players announced their refusal to play for the Eastern Province Kings or Southern Kings until certain issues were sorted out,[5] was not met, the South African Rugby Players' Association submitted a liquidation application in January 2016 against EP Rugby (Pty) Ltd on behalf of eighteen Eastern Province Kings players who were not included in the Southern Kings Super Rugby squad for 2016 and have not received their salaries since September 2015.[6] The Port Elizabeth High Court provisionally liquidated Eastern Province Rugby in March 2016 and imposed a deadline of 10 May 2016 to pay outstanding player salaries, before the liquidation order would being made final.[7]

The Eastern Province Kings submitted details of a rescue package to the High Court in May 2016,[8] which saw the liquidation order being postponed until 4 August 2016. In July 2016, it emerged that the rescue package would not come to fruition and SARU withdrew their appeal against the final liquidation order.[9] On 4 August 2016, the High Court ruled that the Eastern Province Kings should be liquidated.[10]

Within hours of the liquidation being finalised, SARU released a statement that an Eastern Province Kings team funded by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality would continue to participate in the 2016 Currie Cup Premier Division.[11]

Stadium

The team was originally based at St George's Park. They shared the ground with the Eastern Province cricket team.

In 1959, the EPRU decided to move the team to the then named Boet Erasmus Stadium. The stadium was later named Telkom Park, due to a naming rights deal, and then renamed to the current name, the EPRU Stadium. The team played most home matches at the stadium, with a few hosted at other venues in Port Elizabeth and surrounding towns. During the late 2000s, the team shared the stadium with football (soccer) club Bay United.

In 2009, the team played its first match at their current home, the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

Honours

The team's major tournament wins include the 2002 Vodacom Shield, 2010 Currie Cup First Division and 2012 Currie Cup First Division.

Results by season

The table below indicates the Kings' recent finishes. This includes games played as Eastern Province, Eastern Province Kings and Mighty Elephants.

Currie Cup
Season Pool/Group No of Teams Position Play-Off Result
1988 Currie Cup Division A 7 6th
1989 Currie Cup Division A 8 8th
1990 Currie Cup Division A 8 5th
1991 Currie Cup 6 6th
1992 Currie Cup 6 6th
1993 Currie Cup 6 3rd
1994 Currie Cup 6 6th
1995 Currie Cup 6 5th
1996 Currie Cup Section A 7 5th
1997 Currie Cup 14 14th
1998 Currie Cup 14 9th
1999 Currie Cup 14 7th
2000 Currie Cup Section X 7 5th
Bankfin Cup1 6 1st Losing Finalists
2001 Currie Cup Section X 7 7th
Bankfin Cup1 6 3rd
2002 Currie Cup Section Y 7 7th
Bankfin Cup1 6 3rd
2003 Currie Cup Qualifying 8 6th
First Division 6 3rd
2004 First Division 6 5th
2005 Premier Division Section X 7 5th
First Division Section X2 3 2nd Losing Semi-Finalists
2006 First Division 6 4th Losing Finalists
2007 First Division 6 2nd Losing Finalists
2008 First Division 6 6th
2009 First Division 6 4th Losing Semi-Finalists
2010 First Division 6 2nd Champions
Promotion/Relegation 2 2nd Failed to win promotion
2011 First Division 6 2nd Losing Finalists
2012 First Division 8 1st Champions
Promotion/Relegation 2 2nd Failed to win promotion
2013 First Division 8 2nd Losing Finalists, Promoted
2014 Premier Division 8 8th
2015 Premier Division 8 7th

1 Between 2000 and 2002, the top 4 in each section qualified for the Top 8 tournament, the bottom 3 in each section for the Bankfin Cup.
2 In 2005, the top 4 in each section qualified for the Premier Division, the bottom 3 in each section for the First Division.

Vodacom Cup
Season Pool/Group No of Teams Position Play-Off Result
1998 Vodacom Cup Section A 7 4th
1999 Vodacom Cup Southern Section 7 4th
2000 Vodacom Cup Southern Section 7 3rd Losing Quarter Finalists
2001 Vodacom Cup Section X 8 5th
Vodacom Shield1 6 2nd Losing Finalists
2002 Vodacom Cup Section X 7 6th
Vodacom Shield1 6 3rd Champions
2003 Vodacom Shield 7 4th Losing Semi-Finalists
2004 Vodacom Shield 7 6th
2005 Vodacom Cup Section X 7 7th
2006 Vodacom Cup 14 12th
2007 Vodacom Cup Southern Section 7 4th Losing Quarter Finalists
2008 Vodacom Cup Southern Section 7 6th
2009 Vodacom Cup Southern Section 7 7th
2010 Vodacom Cup Southern Section 8 6th
2011 Vodacom Cup Southern Section 8 5th
2012 Vodacom Cup Southern Section 8 3rd Losing Quarter Finalists
2013 Vodacom Cup Southern Section 8 3rd Losing Semi-Finalists
2014 Vodacom Cup Southern Section 8 5th
2015 Vodacom Cup Southern Section 8 5th

1 Between 2001 and 2002, the top 4 in each section qualified for the Vodacom Top 8 tournament, the bottom 3 in each section for the Vodacom Shield.

Super 10
Season Pool/Group No of Teams Position Play-Off Result
1994 Super 10 Pool A 5 5th

Current season

For more details on this topic, see 2016 Eastern Province Kings season.

Players

The following players were included in the Eastern Province Kings squad for 2016 Currie Cup Premier Division:[12]

Eastern Province Kings Currie Cup Premier Division squad

Props

Hookers

Locks

Loose Forwards

Scrum-halves

Fly-halves

Centres

Wingers

Fullbacks

(c) Denotes team captain and Bold denotes internationally capped players.

Currie Cup qualification squad

In addition to players above, the following Eastern Province Under-21 and Under-19 players made first class appearances for the Eastern Province Kings in the 2016 Currie Cup qualification series:[13]

Eastern Province Kings Currie Cup qualification squad

Props

Hookers

Locks

  • South Africa Lusanda Badiyana
  • South Africa Wynand Grassmann
  • South Africa Gerrit Huisamen
  • South Africa Rob Lyons

Loose Forwards

  • South Africa Justin Hollis
  • South Africa Jayson Reinecke

Scrum-halves

  • South Africa Rouche Nel
  • South Africa Sibusiso Ngcokovane

Fly-halves

Centres

Wingers

Fullbacks

(c) denotes team captain.

Team Officials

Coaches
Robbi Kempson Head Coach
Zondi Soloshe Team Manager
Kyle Meyer Physiotherapist
Eric Fisher Strength & Conditioning Coach
Dr Clement Plaatjies Team doctor
Sean O'Dea Performance Analyst
Zuko Ndlela Assistant Performance Analyst
Phiwe Nomlomo Academy Coach

Records

Eastern Province Kings records:[14]

Team Match Records
Record Opposition Venue Season
Biggest win: Welwitschias Adcock Stadium, Port Elizabeth 2001 110–17
Biggest Currie Cup win: Griffons Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth 2013 63–7
Heaviest defeat: Griquas Griqua Park, Kimberley 1998 12–80
Heaviest Currie Cup defeat: Northern Transvaal 1984 3–65
Highest score: Welwitschias Adcock Stadium, Port Elizabeth 2001 110
Most points conceded: Griquas Griqua Park, Kimberley 1998 80
Most tries: Welwitschias Adcock Stadium, Port Elizabeth 2001 16
Most Currie Cup tries: Griffons Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth 2011 11
Player Match Records
Record Player Opposition Venue Season
Most points by a player: Hennie le Roux Eastern Transvaal Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth 1991 38
Most Currie Cup points by a player: Bertus Kruger Western Transvaal 1996 29
Most tries by a player: Erich Knoetze Stellaland Rustenburg 1991 5
Frikkie Crous Western Transvaal Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth 1994 5
Norman Nelson Falcons Barnard Stadium, Kempton Park 2010 5
Team Season Records
Record Matches Season
Most team points: in 27 matches 2012 875
Most Currie Cup team points: in 27 matches 2012 611
Most team tries: in 24 matches 2003 103
in 27 matches 2012 103
Most Currie Cup team tries: in 18 matches 2012 76
Player Season Records
Record Player Season
Most points by a player: Bertus Kruger 1996 282
Most Currie Cup points by a player: Brett Hennessey 2002 153
Most tries by a player: Manie van Vuuren 1994 14
Henry Pedro 1998 14
Fabian Juries 2003 14
Most Currie Cup tries by a player: Henry Pedro 1998 13
Luke Watson 2012 13
Player Career Records
Record Player Seasons
Most appearances: Barry Pinnock 1993–2002 173
Most points: Giepie van Zyl 1981–1988 1126
Most Currie Cup points: Giepie van Zyl 1981–1988 755
Most tries: Norman Nelson 2006–2013 56

References

  1. "Name change for EP Rugby". Sport24. 2010-07-14. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
  2. "Kings facing player exodus?". Rugby365. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  3. "SARU steps in to assist the Southern Kings Super Rugby franchise" (Press release). South African Rugby Union. 17 November 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  4. "SA Rugby unveils Southern Kings management team and operational plan" (Press release). South African Rugby Union. 4 December 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  5. "EP Kings players hand over petition to Watson". Rugby15. 7 December 2015. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  6. "Southern Kings unaffected by liquidation application against EP Rugby (Pty) Ltd". South African Rugby Union. 28 January 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  7. "EP Rugby provisionally liquidated". Herald Live. 10 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  8. "UK firm revealed as Kings' saviour". Herald Live. 25 May 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  9. "EP Kings business rescue hits a snag". Herald Live. 26 July 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  10. "It's official: EP Kings liquidated". SA Rugby Magazine. 4 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  11. "EP Kings confirmed in Currie Cup Premier Division with Municipal support" (Press release). South African Rugby Union. 4 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  12. "Ferreira leads Kings into battle". Rugby365. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  13. "SA Rugby Squad – EP Kings : 2016 Currie Cup Qualifying". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  14. SA Rugby Annual 2014. South African Rugby Union. 2014. p. 251. ISBN 978-0-620-57859-2.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/13/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.