Kings face player exodus

AS the Southern Kings lick their wounds after their narrow exit from Vodacom Super Rugby they will now face a massive exit as players and coaches look to greener pastures both locally and abroad. EP Kings president Cheeky Watson has played down the exit, focusing on the glass-half-full scenario, but up to 10 Kings players are likely to announce moves to other franchises and abroad in the next few days.

What is worse for the Kings, a number of players won’t even wait until the end of the season and will join other provinces for the Absa Currie Cup, striking a blow to the Kings’ hopes of winning promotion to the A-section of the domestic competition in October.

The move will be started by the Bulls’ announcement in the next day or so that a quartet of Super Rugby players will join their ranks immediately.
These four players – Boks Waylon Murray, Bandise Maku and stars Jacques Engelbrecht and David Bulbring – have agreements to join the Bulls, but had to wait until a clause in their contracts releasing them once the Kings were out of Super Rugby kicked in.

While the Bulls are also set on signing former Lions hooker Callie Visagie, who was with them on loan during the Super Rugby season, and some close to the union say the player has already signed, it may put a spanner in the works regarding Maku’s contractual negotiations with the Union.

Maku came through the Bulls’ junior ranks before moving to the Kings to get more game time.
Other than the quartet, tighthead prop Kevin Buys is heading for Brive in France to continue his career and mobile loosehead prop Schalk Ferreira is in talks with the Lions to make a move there.

Impressive scrumhalf Shaun Venter will return to the Pumas for the Currie Cup, but is in talks with the Cheetahs to make a move to Bloemfontein for next year’s Vodacom Super Rugby competition to replace Piet van Zyl, who was recently snapped up by the Bulls.

Fullback SP Marais is another player in the Cheetahs’ sights, while back-up flyhalf Wesley Dunlop has signed for French club Montauban for the upcoming season.

There is no word on the future of prodigy Sergeal Peterson though, although a number of franchises are apparently keen to sign him.-Sport24.