Comment: Axing the Kings far from straightforward

Editor

With Super Rugby set to be culled to 15 teams, the South African Rugby Union (SARU) are in a Catch-22 situation on which of its teams to axe from next year’s tournament.

SANZAAR’s proposal – after a meeting in London earlier this month – to change competition’s format has led to speculation that one Australian and two South African teams face the chop.

If reports in the South African media are to be believed then the two teams from that country that are heading for Super Rugby’s exit door are the Cheetahs and the Southern Kings.

And while it seems like the Cheetahs’ fate is sealed, SARU are facing a conundrum as the South African government are reportedly keen for the Kings to remain in the competition.

The reason for this is that the Port Elizabeth-based franchise are in a region which has the highest percentage of black African rugby players in South Africa, and one of the main reasons for their inclusion in Super Rugby is that they will help SARU to reach their transformation goals.

They have, however, been struggling on the playing field, having won just one out of their five matches so far this season and finished 17th on the overall table in last year’s 18 team competition.

And upon the franchise’s Super Rugby return last year – after playing in the tournament for just one season in 2013 – they have been playing in front of low crowds, with their 48,459 capacity Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth only 15 percent full during 2016’s Super Rugby matches.

That is an average of 6,914 spectators tallied per match, and similar figures have been coming through the turnstiles this year.

Those transformation goals are important for SARU as just last year, South Africa’s Minister of Sport, Fikile Mbalula, revoked SA Rugby’s right to host international tournaments for failing to meet its agreed transformation targets.

The decision threw SA Rugby’s bid to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup into jeopardy. And although Mbalula made a turnaround earlier this month and confirmed that the SA government would support SA Rugby’s bid to host the global showpiece, that decision could be overturned again if SARU decide to axe the Kings from Super Rugby.

The question will be, however, which other South African team will then face chop if SARU decide to keep the Kings in the competition?

Last year’s runners-up the Lions, three-time champions the Bulls, perennial South African Conference winners the Stormers as well as the Sharks are generally regarded as the four powerhouses of the South African game and could face the prospect of relegation at the end of the 2017 season.

It’s not a far-fetched idea that one of the aforementioned franchises will be axed as that already occurred at the end of the 2012 Super Rugby season when the Lions were relegated to make way for the Kings.

A crucial SANZAAR meeting is scheduled to be held on April 6 which could be D-Day regarding the decision on teams who should be axed from Super Rugby.

This could have far reaching implications for South African rugby, as that decision could decide how serious they are about transformation in the game as well as their hopes of hosting the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

by David Skippers