CAPE TOWN – The Southern Kings and Cheetahs’ passage into a new rugby horizon in Europe is about to be confirmed.
In the first official feedback from the organisers of the PRO12 competition – where teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales take part – Celtic Rugby, they issued a statement on Wednesday to announce that “advance and positive discussions” are ongoing with the South African Rugby Union about adding two teams – the Kings and Cheetahs – in an expansion of the tournament.
Both South African teams can feel aggrieved that they have been chopped from Super Rugby, with the Kings in particular boasting more points – 28 – than four Australian teams in the Western Force (26), Reds (21), Waratahs (19) and Melbourne Rebels (9), as well as the Sunwolves (12) from Japan.
The Cheetahs ended on 21 points.
But now they have a chance to reinvent themselves in European rugby, and also serve as almost a test case to see what future value playing up north could hold for SA rugby overall, as there is a known growing frustration with the whole Super Rugby set-up.
Crowd attendances and TV viewership figures are dropping, and the convoluted conference format has also not won many fans in recent seasons.
So if the Kings and Cheetahs prove to be a success, it could provide SA Rugby with an alternative once the current Super Rugby deal comes to an end in 2020.
SA Rugby were at pains to insist on Wednesday that any further comment on the proposed expansion of the Pro12 tournament would come from Celtic Rugby, who said: “Advanced and positive discussions are taking place with the South African Rugby Union regarding the introduction of two teams into an expanded PRO12 Championship.
“Given the proximity of the 2017/18 season start, a final decision on this potential expansion will be confirmed as soon as practical.”
The new season is set to begin in September, and one of the major issues that will need to be worked out is the strength of the teams the Kings and Cheetahs would then field in the Currie Cup, which starts this weekend.
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