Super Rugby
Southern Kings confirm 20 players for 2016 Super Rugby roster
ESPN Staff
December 14, 2015

The Southern Kings have announced the names of the first 20 players in their Super Rugby squad.

The South African Rugby Union released a statement to confirm the players would be paid by a new holding company created and wholly owned by the South African Rugby Union to manage the financial affairs of the Kings.

The Kings have been subject of controversy in the past months, with players not being paid and coach Brent Janse van Rensburg resigning his position with the Eastern Province Rugby Union as franchise officials struggled to find sponsors before SARU assumed the reins.

The Kings were readmitted to the competition as part of a three-team expansion for the 2016 tournament, alongside Argentina and Japan's Sunwolves, but New Zealand legend Carlos Spencer left his position as assistant coach almost immediately amid reports of financial troubles and the Union has struggled to pay players.

SARugbymag reported that Janse van Rensburg had departed the franchise "with unpaid salaries stretching back for at least two months", while as many as six players, including Kings captain Tim Whitehead, quit in the past month due to the financial crisis.

SARU chief executive Jurie Roux referred in a statement to "a number of obstacles to overcome" but said the officials had "made considerable progress in the past week".

"There has been a lot of overheated speculation about all manner of things but we have not lost sight of our responsibility.

"Our only desire has been to rescue the Southern Kings from the parlous state in which they found themselves and put together a competitive squad to represent the people of the Eastern Cape with pride in Vodacom Super Rugby.

"Our implementation team is in discussions with other unions and players to complete the signing of the squad that we have in mind."

Concerns about the viability of the squad undoubtedly will still be raised with 12 of the 20 players confirmed hailing from the poorly performed Eastern Province Kings team than finished seventh of eight on the 2015 Currie Cup ladder having won just two of 10 matches. JP du Plessis, Elgar Watts, Louis Fouche, Steven Sykes and former Toulouse prop Schalk Ferreira, meanwhile, are the only notable names among the confirmed squad

Southern Kings Signings: Malcolm Jaer (Fullback, 20), Siyanda Grey (Wing/centre, 26), JP du Plessis (Centre, 24), Stefan Watermeyer (Centre, 27), Elgar Watts (Fly-half, 30), Louis Fouche (Fly-half, 25), Shane Gates (Fly- half, 23), James Hall (Scrum-half, 19), Kevin Luiters (Scrum-half, 23), Aidon Davis (No.8, 23), Sipato Junior Pokomela (No.8, 19), Cyril-John Velleman (Flanker, 20), Stefan Willemse (Flanker, 23), Thembelani Bholi (Flanker, 25), Cornell Hess (Second-row, 26), Steven Sykes (Second-row, 31), Tyler Paul (Second-row, 20), Schalk Ferreira (Prop, 31), Tom Botha (Prop, 25), Edgar Marutlulle (Hooker, 27).

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