"The Eastern Province Rugby Union has been provisionally liquidated, the Port Elizabeth High Court ordered on Thursday morning.
This comes after 36 EP Kings players took the beleaguered union to court after they claimed millions of rands in unpaid salaries. According to the HeraldLIVE website, the union was given until May 10 to settle these debts or could face the order being made final.
The EP Rugby Union was plunged into a financial crisis last year, with the union unable to pay players’ salaries. President Cheeky Watson had promised a R200m sponsorship for the Kings but this failed to materialise, with players forced to accept food vouchers following the non-payment of salaries.
It led to SARU stepping in to take control of the union’s Super Rugby franchise, the Southern Kings. This also comes after the EP Rugby Union on Wednesday announced that former Springbok prop Rob Kempson would coach the team in the upcoming Currie Cup.
In a press release issued, the union insisted that the Kings' preparations for the first round of the expanded Currie Cup competition are on track, despite the current financial challenges being faced."
This is an absolute disgrace for rugby in SA and shows what happens if a politico runs a sport organisation. Money just vanish into thin air. No more protection from Hoskins - Watson has to go as soon as possible.
Kempson must be a fool also - accepting a job from a bankrupt Union.
