 | Parts of this article (those related to its financial troubles and demise) need to be updated. (May 2021) |
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| Full name | Southern Kings | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Union | South African Rugby Union | ||
| Founded | 2009 | ||
| Disbanded | 2020 | ||
| Location | Port Elizabeth, South Africa | ||
| Region | Eastern Cape | ||
| Ground(s) | Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (Capacity: 48,459) | ||
| Most caps | Schalk Ferreira (79) | ||
| Top scorer | Demetri Catrakilis (194) | ||
| Most tries | Yaw Penxe (15) | ||
| League(s) | Super Rugby Pro14 | ||
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| Official website | |||
| kingsrugby | |||
The Southern Kings were a South African professional rugby union team that competed in Super Rugby and Pro14. They were based in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape province and played their home matches at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. They were created in 2009, and had their first match against the British & Irish Lions during their 2009 tour. After competing in Super Rugby in 2013, 2016 and 2017, they joined Pro14 prior to the 2017–18 season, along with the Cheetahs.
For the 2013 season, the Kings' catchment area was made up of the Eastern Cape and parts of the Western Cape, drawing players from 3 provincial unions: namely the Eastern Province Kings, based in Port Elizabeth (representing the southern half of the Eastern Cape), the Border Bulldogs, based in East London (representing the northern half of the Eastern Cape) and the SWD Eagles, based in George (representing the South Western Districts). However, after the South African Rugby Union took over the running of the franchise in November 2015, the franchise had no formal ties to any of the provincial unions.
The team was disbanded in September 2020 after going into voluntary liquidation.[1]
- ^ "PRO14 issues statement after Southern Kings go bust". RugbyPass. 22 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.