Kings facing Pro 12 champions Scarlets first up - will they get raped

..Well you could argue they've already been raped of a few key players in Cloete, Mpimpi and Cronje...this team to be the poster boys for SA rugby in Europe...but how weakened will they have become before the start of the Pro 14? 
I see Scarlets have just signed Leigh Halfpenny as well so a very dangerous Scarlets backline to contend with...

..On the bright side the Cheetahs are a good side...but rumours that the Stormers are poaching all their best players though..???
Will these teams be able to recruit some decent players to fill in the gaps and avoid embarrassing themselves in what is potentially a lucrative new market for SA rugby..

 ...OPENING GUINNESS PRO14 FIXTURES

September 1-2

Cardiff Blues v Edinburgh

Connacht v Glasgow

Dragons v Leinster

Munster v Treviso

Ospreys v Zebre

Scarlets v Southern Kings

Ulster v Toyota Cheetahs

September 8-9

Connacht v Southern Kings

Edinburgh v Dragons

Glasgow v Ospreys

Leinster v Cardiff Blues

Munster v Toyota Cheetahs

Treviso v Ulster

Zebre v Scarlets

September 15-16

Cardiff Blues v Glasgow

Dragons v Connacht

Edinburgh v Treviso

Ospreys v Munster

Southern Kings v Leinster

Toyota Cheetahs v Zebre

Ulster v Scarlets

 All it means is the NH will have a pool of SA players close to hand ,wont even have to bother with airfares on their next head hunting expedition .

 Thanks fro all the news Brycy your interest in SA Rugby fortunes is commendable. I have said before and will say it again, if the money is really good maybe the Kings and Cheetahs will poach players from the Stormers, Bulle, Lions and Sharks.  Time will tell.Ou Warped DUD has a point which is hugely surpri sing!

 ..Bean Brain to be clear, i'm following the Pro 14 more for the Kiwi talent on display the likes of Charles Piutau , Johnny McNichol, former Chiefs Bundee Aki and James Lowe going to Leinster to name afew...rather than the two rejected South African teams from Super Rugby... although i would like to see the Cheetahs do well - they have played agood brand of running rugby in the past..

 ...looks like it's going to be a very long season for the Kings...soundly whipped they could have used Mapimpi today not to mention Cloete and Cronje but those birds have flown...

Absolute shocking from the King's. I won't be tuning in anytime soon. Have to feel for the coach. Desperate to get players. Agreed that it would have been better had they been able to hold onto their star players

It is unbelievable that this is happening during the Curry Cup. Surely this is a better alternative to the Curry Cup. An SOS should be sent to the Curry Cup teams to take the best players. Any Super rugby experienced player, or the best potential new players.

This is a farce.

 Most of the best players in the Kings Super Rugby team has left the franchise and went to other teams - so what is to be expected from the left-overs?   They were weak in Super Rugbvy to start with - now they are even worse.     

 The Kings have a very good coach. They will get better pronto.

 Kings losing all their players is bad. If the Pro 12 oaks stick with the Cheetahs and Kings they will improve as my guess is the money is very good and these two sides will get in good players. If they don't improve after a couple of years they will get axed.What is for sure is that they cant build up strong sides only to be poached by the parasitical Bulle and Sharks!

 ...i can't see how travelling back and forwards to SA is going to work long term.....the Irish, Welsh and Scottish teams will soon get sick of that... it's something like a 14-15 hour flight. ...there needs to be a neutral ground where they can meet halfway somewhere, maybe Timbuktu or Southern Sudan where the weather is always fine...
...ican also see the kings getting replaced by an alternate SA team next year...SA will be too embarrased for them to be representing them long term...otherwise they will become the whipping boys of the competition and South Africa will be the laughing stock of NH rugby...

So how have the NZ, Aus and particularly the SA teams managed to play Super Rugby without getting tired of traveling back and forwards?

...Aside from a greater rugby history between our countries, NZ teams normally travel to SA to face a better quality opposition than the Kings... a team that concedes eight tries on a regular basis would'nt be worth the 15 hour trip you could argue...that may turn NH viewers off like it turned SH viewers off... ..my understanding is that the Kings would be accepted in Pro 14 on condition they strengthened up their side but not sure if they will be able to do that fast enough to survive...

Greater history....? There we go again. NZ is the centre of the universe. SA has as great a history with European rugby. Same goes for NZ and Europe. It is probably a tad early to start making predictions about the future of the Pro14. I mean look at the high hopes we had for Super Rugby back in the early years and look what a balls up it has become.

 Brycy, its only a 11 hour flight direct and there are chartered airlines that flies out weekly. 
In total the SA teams will have to do 6 trips, but with only 2 matches a pop. 
This don't hold water as in Super Rugby the travel is far more exhausting. 
Although, they have to play 25 games in the season, which is way more that they would have played in either currie cup or super rugby. 
I'm almost feel like the cheetahs need to be dropped to devision 1 currie cup as they can't put out a competitive team, same as the kings who has their team playing in devision 1.
I also think that come November, we will see a few more player heading over to the kings and cheetahs on loan which may help them for the next 3 months until the super rugby comp start in Feb. 

Great to have the SA teams over here. Real boost to the comp.Everyone gets the SA rugby pedigree.Yes the Scarlets ran away with it in the 2nd half, but we're lucky to go in leading at ht. Everyone this end realises that whilst the Currie Cup clashes with the Pro 14 between now and end October then the Cheetahs and Kings are stretched too thinly to do justice to either really...the Kings getting a further hit with players being cherry picked is just unfortunate.
As for travel, it really isn't significant for the teams this end, and getting to Treviso is generally as painful !
Looking forward to the season and expect both SA teams to be giving the old Pro 12 teams a warm ' welcome' to PE and Bloemfontein.

 
It's tough to start a competition where everything is new and strange. Even the weather is something they'll have to adapt to ... not to mention the heavier fields.

But enough of the excuses ... it's exciting times ... and most of us are delighted that they were accepted into the competition. I'm sure they'll improve as time goes by.

Besides, their inclusion may just have opened up doors for additional unwanted talent sitting here idle. It's good for SA rugby.

Go Cheetahs ... Go Kings.

 The only way for them to improve in this competition is to reduce the number of involved SA players, keeping 2 to 4 for the colour and image value, and hiring talent from other nations.

Other than that, these sides win matches other teams are reluctant to play, like SA home matches played in the heat of the summer.