‘Kings something special’
4 Aug 2010
Alan Solomons has hit back at criticism around the racial make-up of the Eastern Province Kings team.
On Monday, Simon Borchardt argued that the Kings should walk the talk when it comes to transformation, even though they are currently top of the Currie Cup First Division with wins over Boland, a Griffons side boosted by Free State players, and Border.
The make-up of the side for the last match against Boland consisted of four black players, but director of rugby Solomons brushed this off.
‘Mpho Mbiyozo was injured and for the first time this season less than a third of the side was black,’ Solomons told keo.co.za. ‘But that’s not what this team’s all about. There’s no numbers game and everyone is picked on merit. There is a relaxed atmosphere at training and guys speak English, Afrikaans and Xhosa. The black guys feel at home more than they do elsewhere.
‘I’ve selected a leadership group of six players, and only De Wet Barry isn’t from the Eastern Cape,’ added Solomons in mentioning Tiger Mangweni, Mzwandile Stick, Darron Nell, Rory Duncan, and Mbiyozo. ‘De Wet’s committed himself to the region, an example of that is him learning to speak Xhosa.
‘You can see from all the players’ body language how happy they are to be back home. My motto is bring them home and keep them home. They want to be part of something special.’
Solomons also noted how the complexion of the side changes from week to week according to availability, with this Saturday’s clash against the Valke consisting of eight players of colour (six of whom will start). He also added that the assistant coach is David Maidza and the CEO is Anele Pamba, while the majority of the back-room staff, from the physios to the manager, are also black.
Solomons has only been working full-time at the union for two months, and already the signs of progress are there. He believes the franchise will be ready for Super Rugby in a year and a half’s time.
‘As far as I’m concerned, we’ve been given unequivocal backing and a guarantee from Saru that we’ll be playing Super Rugby in 2013. We’re putting structures in place and I feel we’ll be ready a year by 2012. It’s got to happen now.
‘Although not every South African has links with the Eastern Cape, we should all be working together to support the union, not criticise it.
‘I’d love it if every black player who’s been developed in this region came back, because they get lost at some other unions. Without a Super Rugby franchise in the Eastern Cape they’ve had no aspirational pathway and their aspirations have been ignored. It’s going to be tough, but we’ve started a process.
‘We’re doing our best with the professional team, but it’s also about under-pinning that with high performance teams. We’ve begun working with the schools, age-group sides and universities in the region, which hasn’t been the case in the past as there’s essentially been no professional rugby here, and therefore none of the professional structures.’
Included in this process is building stronger relationships with the schools so that players don’t leave the region before they’ve finished their Matric, as is currently the case.
‘We’re undertaking a road trip to the top 27 schools in the region with guys like Danie Gerber and Robbie Kempson.
‘At times we might go sideways or a little backwards, but ultimately we’re moving forward. People in the region have seen what’s happening and interest is rising. We must also remember that we had the most representative rugby crowd for the Kings’ match against the Lions last year, which shows the interest and hunger for sport across all racial groups.’
By Grant Ball
546 Comments
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4 Aug 2010, 23:32 pm
@cab(cab)-499:
Still in Jhb. Haven’t lived in Cape Town for 20 years now, and still miss it desperately.
4 Aug 2010, 23:37 pm
@David(David)-497: Wow, very interesting David.
I saw a history channel documentary about a month or so ago about the Belgian Congo. It was a couple of hours long and was absolutely horrendous. Leopold never even stepped foot in the place but made a fortune from it. Really disgusting stuff.
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-495:Nope, I’m there for the cash and am waiting on SARS to refund me a bucketload thanks very much
Not sure where I’m off to next, unless anyone on here has a need for a super duper top notch site manager/agent on the civils/construction side. All offers greatfully accepted anywhere in SA
4 Aug 2010, 23:38 pm
David
yeah u should move down to CT, was listening to jinx the other evening about going to watch the sunset and entered a sort of dreamlike state which was interrupted by the the thought of grant in his speedo.
Night
4 Aug 2010, 23:42 pm
@cab(cab)-503:
Yeah, I was also envious when he made that comment last night. Cheers Cab, and goodnight.
4 Aug 2010, 23:45 pm
@JockBok(JockBok)-502:
It was probably the worst violation of a population in colonial africas history. Today, it would be classified as genocide.
4 Aug 2010, 23:49 pm
Anyway, good night guys, whoever’s left.
5 Aug 2010, 00:04 am
@David(David)-506: Lol, yeah goodnight David. I’m onlyhere cos it’s taking about 10 mins to send a message. The amount of typing I’ve done only to lose it in cyber space is enough to try the patience of a saint
5 Aug 2010, 00:52 am
hi jock,
good luck with your break and job hunting (although am sure you will be in demand).
as info, the comparison with ghana after independence was malaysia – both countries were granted independence from uk in the same year – only difference was ghana was given a bit more cash to get started.
unfortunately, ghana was left in the dust.
much to the concern of many of my local friends who were confused by this apparent contradiction (seriously).
until a few expats explained a concept known as “work ethic” – unfortunately a previously unknown value to the populace who had, until this stage, relied almost entirely on gathering bananas or cocoa beans – you know, really tough intellectually demanding tasks.
the rest is history
5 Aug 2010, 07:42 am
@goyougoodthing2(goyougoodthing2)-379: All people are equal; some are just more equal than others…
5 Aug 2010, 08:02 am
@David(David)-505:
@David(David)-505:
South Africa has its own genocide.
Worse Than War
The UCA Report on Murder in South Africa reveals that according to the official statistics, in the 44 years from 1950 to 1993, there was an average of 7036 murders per year. This covered the turbulent strife of the apartheid years of warfare, conflict, terrorism, riots and repression.
However, in the first eight years (of peace) of the new democratic dispensation, under the ANC, an average of 24 206 murders were committed each year – officially!. However, if the Interpol statistics are accepted, then the murder rate in South Africa during the ANC years has averaged 47 882 per year.
Nice…
5 Aug 2010, 08:28 am
@Great White Shark(Predawn)-510: Where did you get that info from? Really shocking……
5 Aug 2010, 08:36 am
I know bru. Can’t recall the site unfortunately.
I can’t even go on leave to South Africa until I have gotten clearance from the United Nations Department of Safety and Security, because the Security Phase for South Africa is so high.
5 Aug 2010, 08:47 am
@Great White Shark(Predawn)-512: Seriously? That’s hectic.
I worked for a British company in SA about 10 years ago. I was one of two or three locals, and the rest were expats from around the world, places like Hong Kong, Bahrain etc. (Poms working in the offshore havens). Well, these guys arrived with their pounds and totally went to town, BMW M3′s, etc. No sooner had they bought half this stuff than they were getting highjacked, robbed etc. The parent company also send out a memo restricting us from travel to JHB central except in emergencies etc. It was quite hectic.
The last straw was when the regional head was house-jacked with his wife and kids in Morningside, noboddy badly hurt but severly traumatised. The next week the company pulled the plug on SA. Sad, crime killing busines…..
5 Aug 2010, 08:57 am
@Great White Shark(Predawn)-510:
That is utter propaganda – I have trawled the Internet and I can find that exact post – replicated a number of times – and all of it on your typical Afropessimist, rightwing, or ultraconservative Christian websites that talk of white genocide and how much SA sucks.
However there is absolutely NO source documents existing? I would love to know who the author of this “UCA report” is? What the hell is UCA? The University for the Creative Arts? The Uniting Church in Australia? The University of Cadiz? The University of Central Arkansas? The University of Central Asia?
Please do enlighten me – because from where I stand all I can see is a naive fool who’s had the wool pulled over his eyes and has accepted a sensationalist post without checking its veracity, blindly accepting it as the truth and, even worse, has now disseminated it.
Never, ever, accept anything as the truth. Question everything. Otherwise you’re just being taken for a ride.
5 Aug 2010, 09:00 am
@Great White Shark(Predawn)-510:
I think you might find that the figures for 1950 to 1993 were much higher. It’s just that the SAP weren’t particularly interested in opening dockets for township crime.
I’m not justifying the figures since, just saying that I find the comparison rather suspicious.
5 Aug 2010, 09:03 am
@David(David)-515:
Especially if you go and conduct some Internet research and see on what sort of websites that exact post is being replicated, without any source being credited.
Very convenient.
The people who run these sort of right-wing websites have become very adept at propaganda and fear-mongering, Joseph Goebbels would have been proud…
5 Aug 2010, 09:04 am
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever)-514:
Good post.
5 Aug 2010, 09:05 am
@David(David)-515: I think you’ll find that much of the police force are still very reluctant to open dockets on pretty much anything……
5 Aug 2010, 09:08 am
Errm… what was so wrong with colonialism?
Where would Africa, for example, be today without it?
The benefits FAR outweigh any negatives.
Thank god the British colonised SA and established our amazing infrastructure and industry.
The challenge is whether SA can maintain it. Almost every other African country hasn’t been able to.
5 Aug 2010, 09:13 am
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-518:
Yeah. Seriously, though, prior to the ’90s the police were more interested in ensuring the safety of the white areas with the townships left mainly to their own devices. To a great extent it was similar to the SWC. A little known fact is that the police worked with the township criminals, because they were more valuable to them as political informers than in prison.
5 Aug 2010, 09:18 am
@David(David)-520:
However – the currently proposed media tribunal and the onslaught by the ANC against the media, is one of the biggest threats to individual freedom and democracy we’ve faced in this country since 1994.
5 Aug 2010, 09:19 am
@Remember when Teichman was dropped before ‘99 RWC?(Paper Tiger with Nuclear Teeth)-519: ‘Thank god the British colonised SA and established our amazing infrastructure and industry.’
agree, I’m not sure about the other European colonisers (South America doesn’t look in great shape) but Britain put a little bit back in for the future of nations they colonised, probably not altruistically but as long as the benefit accrued then it has to be viewed as a positive thing.
5 Aug 2010, 09:21 am
@David(David)-520: Sure, no doubt. I read a report a few years ago about crime and demographics and the people worst affected by crime in this country, adjusted for population percentage, is still Black people by far. So yes, crime is a massive problem, and needs urgent adressing, but it affects everyone, not just certain population groups.
As an aside, my wife is a psychologist and has worked with people in the Police services. The conditions and restrictions that these guys have to work under is attrocious. No wonder things are so inefficient….
5 Aug 2010, 09:29 am
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever)-521:
I totally agree. It didn’t help that one of their justifications was the publicity given to internal leaks from their own party.
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-523:
It does need addressing, I agree. One of the problems is, in the past, police efforts were concentrated on the white areas whereas now, they’re far too widely stretched for their numbers. Politics has also ensured that an enormous amount of experience has left.
5 Aug 2010, 09:36 am
@Big Hit(Big Hit)-522:
Colonisation was rather like the curates egg and depends on your standpoint. The USA is where it is because of the European immigrants, although the indiginous Americans might have a more jaundiced view on the subject. Under Mussolini the trains ran on time and Hitler took Germany out of the post WWI depression. Thankfully history is just that, and we can only influence the present and future.
5 Aug 2010, 09:42 am
@David(David)-525: I don’t think it’s fair to relate Britain’s colonisation with that of the fascist policies of Hitler and Mussolini. The natives of the time (for the most part) certainly wouldn’t have welcomed intruders but when assessing the influence of colonisation at this point surely you have to take the long term perspective, and it’s hard to argue that it wasn’t positive for the development of the colonised nations.
5 Aug 2010, 09:52 am
@Big Hit(Big Hit)-526:
What I was attempting to do was to give examples of how “improvements” can also have a downside. Not compare colonisation to Hitler and Mussolini. Although as you mention some colinist were more brutal that others. Neither Mzilikazi, when he was building his N’debele nation, nor Shaka, the Zulu one, worried about the cost to the people they were conquering.
5 Aug 2010, 09:53 am
Jeez, my spelling typos are embarrassing.
5 Aug 2010, 09:56 am
@David(David)-527: understood, I agree, perspective is everything as you say.
5 Aug 2010, 10:00 am
@David(David)-527: Exactly. Judgements are always difficult when viewed through the cultural norms and standards of a different time.
If you look at the Greeks, when they conquered a city it was expected that the men would all be killed and the women and children taken as slaves. Yet we view them as great cultural innovators (which they were), yet at the same time they were capable of immense cruelty (viewed by todays standards). So there was good and bad about most conquests (colonisation was most certainly that), but depending on the opinion or agenda of the person, it can be seen both ways. The truth tends to lie somewhere in-between. Both progress and oppression invariably resulted, in vaying degrees depending on the circumstance.
5 Aug 2010, 10:51 am
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-511: don’t believe anything Predawn writes on this site, especially if it is not about rugby, he is a confirmed liar and twists facts to make his often negative points about south africa. Look, he can’t even gat himself to give you the website where he got that (mis)information.
5 Aug 2010, 11:50 am
hehehe…
very revealing that those labelled “liberals” and “do-gooders” attract so much vitriole… says way more about those spewing the vitriole than it does about the alleged “liberals” and “do-gooders”…
rather a do-gooder any day… than a do-nothing…
but then again… maybe standing in their safe and isolated comfort-zones on the outskirts shouting the odds and cursing the do-gooders makes them feel better about themselves…
sheesh dawg… issues…!!
5 Aug 2010, 12:04 pm
Gee, I thought this was supposed to be a rugby blog. If I want crime analysis or revisionist history, I can go elsewhere for that.
5 Aug 2010, 13:28 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever)-514:
Well something has shakenly disturbed you from that demanding balancing act called fence-sitting. Whatever it is or was your response to post #510 is worth that effort.
If you are to fence-sit it is far, far better do do so on the fence of just TRUTH(it’s really shady there) and to hell with keeping your nose clean.
5 Aug 2010, 13:48 pm
@ET(ET)-534:
How was your swim last night? Any lightning?
5 Aug 2010, 14:22 pm
@David(David)-535:
Wonderfully refreshing.
I’m quite good at dodging the lightning bullet wrt timing and for that I assiduously consult the radar component of the weather channel.
About 35 mins. after my activity the thunderstorm was flashing up the sky.
You do know tha Florida is the ‘lightning capital’ of the world and it kills many people every year.
Where is G10 he is so quiet?
5 Aug 2010, 14:30 pm
@ET(ET)-536:
I thought the highveld had that honour. G10s busy on the Hoskins thread.
5 Aug 2010, 14:46 pm
@David(David)-537:
Highveld? Not by a long mile and you know how dramatically these Americans can present any claim they think ranks as ‘world’s’ highest, best,longest etc.etc.
You coming from CT to JHB makes it look bad there on the Highveld but that’s really childsplay here.
In fact, they will with drama tell you about a city/town called Lakeland which is the “world’s lightning capital” and I am about 70 miles from that.
All Florida is danger area wrt lightning and I am very wary as I still want to live in my home in CT again.
I have just seen the G10 post.
It seems your wife being on vacation in England has afforded you lots of free time for the rugby, pity no SA games these last few weeks after the overseas leg of shame.
I recall you missing out on seeing a game because of wife’s car problem at the time. Wise move to sort that out promptly for her.
5 Aug 2010, 14:51 pm
@ET(ET)-538:
You’ve got a good memory. Yes, she had a flat battery out at Cedarwoods just as the game was about to start. I rushed out there, got her started and dived into the nearest pub to watch!
5 Aug 2010, 15:17 pm
@ufo(ufo)-532: excellent post my man…
5 Aug 2010, 16:21 pm
Mick 533,
yep fair comment, but occasionally there’s an article about the Kings which invokes a political reaction and from there on a discussion of history which normally ends up with a fight
5 Aug 2010, 17:36 pm
@Great White Shark(Predawn)-510: SWART GEVAAR IS TRULY COMING.
5 Aug 2010, 18:28 pm
F all this racial talk (article.) Have we learnt nothing? Are we that stupid as a nation?
5 Aug 2010, 18:31 pm
Alan Solomons is a Joke
That idiot should not be allowed back into main stream rugby
5 Aug 2010, 18:33 pm
@Boksarenumber4(Boksarenumber1)-544:
Make up your mind with your Nic. Are we 1 or 4?
5 Aug 2010, 19:02 pm
@David(David)-545:
We are 4
4
4
4
4
4
4
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