If reports by 5FM morning’s sports presenter, Sias Du Plessis and SArugbymag website are correct then it looks like the Kings players have all but given up on retaining a place in the 2014 Super Rugby competition and are starting jump ship. This even before the 2nd and final play-off match gets underway.
After hearing the breakfast show sports report on my 2 hour drive to work this morning (it normally takes 45min but that’s a whole other article) I logged onto the SaRugbymag website to see if I could get confirmation of the players apparently leaving.
According to the article Springbok centre Waylon Murray, loose forward Jacques Engelbrecht, lock David Bullbring and hooker Bandise Maku have signed for the Bulls, who are trying to rebuild after eight of their stars departed at the end of the Super Rugby season, to peruse lucrative deals in Europe and Japan.
However the Bulls are currently denying that and deals have been penned at the moment.
If the reports ring true, then this will be the 2nd blow to the Kings, who this week lost their director of rugby, Alan Solomons, to Scottish side Edinburgh. The Kings lost their home leg of the promotion-relegation match to the Lions 26-19 last week Friday and must win Saturday’s return fixture by at least eight points or with a four-try bonus point to retain their Super Rugby status.
It has also been reported the Lions coach will stay on as head coach should the Lion qualify for next year’s Super Rugby competition. Ackermann contract is due to expire at the end of the season, is apparently desperate to coach in Super rugby and is therefore likely to extend his contact should the Lions win on Saturday.
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I would not mind if the Lions signed SP Marias and Shaun Venter
@Mutley (Comment 1) : I would not mind if the Lions stayed relegated
maybe we could pick up sergael. fast as hell
Perhaps the ship is sinking then?
I will maar rather hold my thoughts to myself on this one…
@West Indies Cricket Board (Comment 3) : good call. that dude has some serious afterburners
@robdylan (Comment 2) : and replace them with?
@Uli (Comment 6) : um, the Kings?
Come, boet… I know it’s Friday, but try harder to keep up 🙂
@robdylan (Comment 7) : Lol dude , seems you will do anything for the Kings…. Even if they shouldn’t be in the tournament based on who the better team is. Not good of you…
Seeing as we’re short of centres I wouldn’t mind seeing Ronnie Cooke added to the Sharks squad.
@Uli (Comment 8) : I dispute your statement that the Lions are better than anyone, based on a career average winning ratio of just 25% in Super Rugby.
The Lions are the worst team EVER to have played Super Rugby.
@robdylan (Comment 10) : And yet the Kings cant beat them at home.
I wonder why I have this nagging feeling that the Kings are going to win this game.
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 11) : you know anything can happen in a one-off game, Salmo. That’ why saying “team X beat team Y on such-and-such a date, hence team X is better” is so silly.
@robdylan (Comment 12) : Ok, and if the Lions again win this weekend, would that then make them the better team.
Lets be honest, after their comparative seasons thus far there is no way that the Lions should beat the Kings, not even at Ellis Park.
But if they do….
I dont think the Lions will lose tomorrow but I will like it if they do 😈
@robdylan (Comment 10) : Yet they beat the Kings, and if they own them tomorrow your reasoning will be invalid anyways.
@robdylan (Comment 10) : People like you make me hate the Kings in a similar way that the Sharks hate the Bulls.
i hope the kings beat the lions,all this talk of who deserves what etc is annoying its not how you got there its what you do with that chance and the kings have done wonders with they chance with the little they had. i know they certainly earned my respect and i think are a better team then the lions. but if the lions win well done to them and hopefully they play with as much passion and determination in next years super rugby competition.
@Uli (Comment 16) : I always think it’s very sad when a person allows someone else’s opinion to “make them hate” something. I reckon you probably started off hating the Kings anyway and are now just looking for justification.
@Uli (Comment 15) : umm, no it won’t, because winning tomorrow’s match won’t do anything to change the Lions overall win percentage in super Rugby of 25%.
Can I ask you to please respond directly to THAT STATISTIC and tell me why you feel they deserve to be in Super Rugby?
I must say, Ive enjoyed watching the Kings this season. They had guts and determination. Unlucky not to win a few games. I for one will be shouting for the kings. or a combination for the 2! Hakuna matata Lion Kings
Something the Lions haven’t done (passion)in SS at all and at the cost of one of the best coaches around
They don’t desreve to be in SR Rob end of story and to go blame a coach in trumped up charges for there own BS what a joke they are
Let’s face it, neither of the two teams deserve to play in a so-called prestige tournament..
But the Lions have had their chance, they were uber kak for many a season, while the Kings have done abnormally well for a debut season (the best any team has done in their first year in Super Rugby)
Being able to build on that season next year would do South African Rugby the world of good.
For all the talk of a sold out Ellis Park, go look at the averages this year compared to last year.
Kings averaged 30k plus per match while the Lions had a paltry 15k average in 2012..
Do the maths, its a simply equation really..
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 23) : unfortunately, trying to introduce logic into a discussion fueled by hate and hate alone never works. 🙁
Appreciate your attempts though, Rich!
So in essence, the Lions will have a sold out stadium once a year, when they have to play in the promotion/relegation match for ending bottom of the log once again.
Ridiculous!
@robdylan (Comment 24) :
Logic has never been a factor on these threads, for obvious reasons..
@Uli (Comment 8) :
You seem to want to do as much as possible for any team other than the Sharks, choosing your team of day based on what stupid comments you can make to rile up other bloggers..
If you are playing the village idiot, you are doing a damn fine job!
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 23) : Agree, they sold out Ellis Park one time and now everyone is supposed to take now. Hell the tickets were going for 20 bucks a pop so why not catch some ruggas.
The Kings not only had numbers in the stadium but played some decent rugby along the way. Over the years i’ve had to endure Loffies ” 3 year plan” and whichever poor soul was captain on the days ” ja well its back to the drawing board but we can takes lots of positives out of the game ” speech so many times im completely allergic to it.
Add De Klerks comments the other day and i just wish that Ellis Park will just disappear into a massive sink hole.
@Clayton(PJLD) (Comment 28) :
“We sal take some very nice positives from this single-win season and come back stronger next seisoen, wif the hope of winning twee!”
Not sure how they will be able to keep the stadium standing at R20 a ticket, but their accountant will have to explain the big loss at the end of the season!
@Clayton(PJLD) (Comment 28) : and they classing the sold out stadium as a super rugby record. but correct me if I’m wrong…..this is not a super rugby game
@The Hobbit (Comment 30) :
No it is not a Super Rugby game, so they might as well be chasing a Currie Cup record, it stands for shit!
@The Hobbit (Comment 30) : You are not wrong
@Clayton(PJLD) (Comment 32) : @Richard Ferguson (Comment 31) : lions only averaged 15 914 per game last year. Kings averaged 31 783 this year. Impressive if I do say so myself. they were the 2nd highest SA team and 3rd overall.
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 27) : Sjoe, thats some harsh words hey……
2012:
Stormers – 38 123
Reds – 32 699
Bulls – 31 783
Sharks – 23 616
Waratahs – 20 646
Cheetahs – 17 364
Crusaders – 16 480
Blues – 15 930
Lions – 15 914
Highlanders – 15 866
Chiefs – 14 795
Rebels – 14 051
Hurricanes – 13 979
Brumbies – 13 936
Force – 13 409
2013:
Stormers – 33 545
Reds – 31 837
Kings – 31 783
Bulls – 29 134
Blues – 20 354
Cheetahs – 19 986
Sharks – 19 491
Waratahs – 17 036
Crusaders – 14 908
Brumbies – 14 290
Chiefs – 14 081
Highlanders – 13 334
Force – 12 240
Rebels – 11 947
Hurricanes – 10 934
@robdylan (Comment 19) : the facts are, the “BEST” team has to play super rugby, be it Kings, Griquas, Boland. I don’t care who it is as long as its performance based. Therefore the promo/reg game system I like.
STORMERS!
@The Hobbit (Comment 30) : Yes I also saw that, but their reasoning is that its “part” of super rugby as they playing for a spot. But I don’t totally agree with that either.
I’m reminded of the old adage – “Never argue with a fool, because they will drag you down to their level… and then beat you with experience.
Anyway, to all my Lions friends – I sincerely hope you take this opportunity and venture down to Ellis Park for a few games next year.
Must say the Watson’s killed the dream for me, as sad as that sounds
@bobby 26 (Comment 40) : it does sound sad, what dream did they kill for you?
@West Indies Cricket Board (Comment 3) : I think Sergeal signed a 2 or more year contract with the Kings, this was within the first few games when he had performed so well.
@bobby 26 (Comment 40) : the unfortunate thing about assholes is that they often manage to achieve things way beyond the capabilities of nice guys…
In other words, you often need an asshole to make things happen.
Crowd attendances count for squat, zilch, zero, nought.
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 44) :
What does count then? In the Lions case its certainly not results!
@Uli (Comment 38) :
Lions fans/admins/media clutching at straws.
Next year its back to the status quo as soon as the first match is lost.
Lions fans are second only to Bulls fans when it comes to fickleness.
Thankfully for the Jakarandastad, the Bulls actually win games.
@VinChainSaw (Comment 45) : The scoreboard, thats all.
Look at the Chiefs, reigning champs and finalists again and less bums on seats this year than last.
The only ones to blame at the end of the day if u want to lay blame,is SARU, for the gutless decision to allow this fiasco in the first place
Rob has a point ,Lions are useless. I hope the Kings win. Somethings will never change, the Lions will continue to be the whipping boys of SA Rugby until all currently involved in the setup pass away .
@Uli (Comment 36) : ->@VinChainSaw (Comment 39) : 😆 Win percentages is a far more telling picture @ ULI
@robdylan (Comment 19) : Well Rob The Kings has only a 18.75% winning record and I don’t care if it is their first season ( They wanted to run before they could walk) personally I feel not one of them should be in super rugby neither is good enough, we need to go back to super 12 then it will be power against power again we have seen neither us nor Australia has the capacity for 5 teams. Bulls should be able to use the lion players, and stormers the kings ( was going to say Sharks but there are too much bad blood between the unions).
and the kings ended bottom of the log as well no difference.
Ek is jammer vir die kings, maar dit is wat gebeur as jy n kits oplossing gebruik, they should have done the responsible thing and take it slowly by first entering the cc for a few seasons and creating a base for a good foundation and then entered the super rugby, maar nou sit hulle met die hang over .
When will they learn something that is politically driven in the sport world will never work in any case.
But enough of this
GO CHIEFS !!!!
I think this whole thing is a disgrace and the spineless assholes of SA rugby is to blame. They basically killed rugby in both regions!!!!!! I don’t think either of them will be competative in super rugby and will be hammered next year!!!! But hey I’m now gatvol and done with this topic!!!!!! Goodluck to both team as you will need it next year!!!! GO SHARKS!!!!!!!
Just as long as George Whitehead and his pre pubescent moustache stay far away from the sharks I’ll be happy 😆
@Clayton(PJLD) (Comment 28) : Thats R1.2 mil. Hell just for a promo rele game. Maybe all the stadia should drop prices – not necessarily to R20 but R50 a seat would bring in more speckled potatoes, I’m sure.
@Uli (Comment 16) : big news Luke Watson linked to Keizer Chiefs, Cheaky Watson linked to Titanic…
👿 😉 @Richard Ferguson (Comment 31) : cant wait to see this one play out…Ps, I was actually rooting for the Kings. Think their fans made EP rugby count again.
@robdylan (Comment 43) : Rob do you know that’s happening to SP Marais? He is a talented player…would have liked to see him in Sharks glory…glad Stander is coming into contention looks like a future stalwart…
@BoerSeun (Comment 60) : plenty of rumours linking SP to Bulls
Nobody seems to have picked up on the Sharks having the LOWEST average crowd attendance of ALL the South African teams this year.
Less than twenty thousand a game? SHOCKING.
I’m sure John Smit will be doing a lot of head scratching about this.
What’s happening in Durbs on weekends?
Never thought I’d see the day the Cheetahs have a better attendance than the Sharks. 🙄
What is it that the Stormers do so successfully to draw so many people to home games?
An empty stadium must have a impact, even if it’s just a small impact, on the players’ motivation to win at home. Why go that extra inch in a stadium where you can hear the echoes ringing out?
@Mutley (Comment 1) : Two good buys
The crowd attendance is a direct reflection of the standard of rugby being played, which attendance has been dropping since 2009, as well as the bad attitude the Sharks have for there supporters
@benji (Comment 65) : Agreed. While it saddens me to see KP mostly empty we have to take into account our recent “performance” .. .
@Feather (Comment 63) : I`ve been to Newlands lots of times and I can`t tell you why they have the best attendance. Maybe the view of Table Mountain? Or the fact that stormer supporters aren`t really hostile, everyone feels welcome there, yes even Bulls!
@Feather (Comment 62) :
ohhhh interesting …
@Original Pierre (Comment 66) : um, we’ve chucked out the CEO and the coaches….
If that’s not an adequate response to the falling attendance, I’d like to know what is?
@Zibbie (Comment 67) : glad to see you guys are back. At least we won’t be bottom placed in attendance next year. 😛
Waylon Murray signed 2 years with the bulls.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 69) :
not if i figure out how to clone myself in the next 7 months !!!!! 😛
@The Hobbit (Comment 70) : sounds like you want to write an article 🙂
@robdylan (Comment 72) : give me 5 minutes. need coffee refill 😈
@The Hobbit (Comment 73) : good man 🙂
That murder at kings park didn’t help things, but I think the biggest factor with regards to the poor crowd attendance is the diminishing “rugby followers” In natal. U finish high school and you either look to go university in the cape, graham town, Pretoria etc. I even have English speaking friends that choose to rather go to university in bloem than kzn. If you don’t go 2 university then you either have to look for work and that usually means heading up 2 joburg or overseas. Lots of natal people head overseas because many have British passports. Look at how well supported the sharks are in joburg, Pretoria and Cape Town. If they were to play another game against the crusaders in London there would definitely be a lot of support. Unless the sharks target a more diverse crowd, dropping the ticket price won’t make to much difference to crowd attendance IMHO.