The Eastern Province Elephants (known as the Multisure Eastern Province Elephants for sponsorship reasons) are a South Africanrugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup and Rugby Challenge competitions. They are governed by the Eastern Province Rugby Union (EPRU or EP Rugby). The team represents the Western half of the Eastern Cape province, and they play their home games at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth.
The Eastern Province Rugby Football Union was founded in 1888. The team was originally a representative team, drawing players from within the provincial union area's local clubs.
Professionalism and Super Rugby
The team was known as the Eastern Province Kings from 2010 to 2017.
However, with the advent of professionalism in rugby union in 1995, the team contracted players from various areas. The Eastern Province Elephants is a professional team run by the EPRU, who are also responsible for junior representative rugby teams and administrative matters in the region.
Prior to 2010, they were known as the Mighty Elephants, but in order to align themselves with the Super Rugby side the Southern Kings, who were also governed by the EPRU, they changed their name to Eastern Province Kings. After the 2010 World Cup, they moved their offices to the new Port Elizabeth Stadium to establish their new headquarters. The team is the primary feeder to the Southern Kings, which also incorporates the Border Bulldogs and the SWD Eagles.[2]
Financial problems and liquidation
After late payments of player salaries throughout most of the 2015 season, it came to a head in November 2015, when the EPRU failed to meet a final deadline imposed by the South African Rugby Players Association. All players' contracts were declared null and void, leading to an exodus of players.[3] A few days later, the South African Rugby Union announced that they would take control of the affiliated Southern Kings Super Rugby franchise,[4] and released an operational plan in early December which indicated that SARU would operate the franchise independently from the Eastern Province Kings.[5]
After a petition handed to president Cheeky Watson, in which players announced their refusal to play for the Eastern Province Kings or Southern Kings until certain issues were sorted out,[6] was not met, the South African Rugby Players' Association submitted a liquidation application in January 2016 against EP Rugby (Pty) Ltd on behalf of eighteen Eastern Province Kings players who were not included in the Southern Kings Super Rugby squad for 2016 and have not received their salaries since September 2015.[7] The Port Elizabeth High Court provisionally liquidated Eastern Province Rugby in March 2016 and imposed a deadline of 10 May 2016 to pay outstanding player salaries, before the liquidation order would being made final.[8]
The Eastern Province Kings submitted details of a rescue package to the High Court in May 2016,[9] which saw the liquidation order being postponed until 4 August 2016. In July 2016, it emerged that the rescue package would not come to fruition and SARU withdrew their appeal against the final liquidation order.[10] On 4 August 2016, the High Court ruled that the Eastern Province Kings should be liquidated.[11]
Within hours of the liquidation being finalised, SARU released a statement that an Eastern Province Kings team funded by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality would continue to participate in the 2016 Currie Cup Premier Division.[12]
Stadium
The team was originally based at St George's Park. This was also where the very first South African Rugby and Cricket Tests took place. They shared the ground with the Eastern Province cricket team.
In 1959, the EPRU decided to move the team to the then named Boet Erasmus Stadium and the inauguration took place in 1960 with the test between the Springboks and Scotland on 30 April 1960. The stadium was later named Telkom Park, due to a naming rights deal, and then renamed to the current name, the EPRU Stadium. The team played most home matches at the stadium, with a few hosted at other venues in Port Elizabeth and surrounding towns. During the late 2000s, the team shared the stadium with football (soccer) club Bay United.
1 Between 2000 and 2002, the top 4 in each section qualified for the Top 8 tournament, the bottom 3 in each section for the Bankfin Cup. 2 In 2005, the top 4 in each section qualified for the Premier Division, the bottom 3 in each section for the First Division.
^"EP's rugby jumbo resurrected". Herald Live. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
^"Name change for EP Rugby". Sport24. 14 July 2010. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
^"Kings facing player exodus?". Rugby365. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
^ (Press release). South African Rugby Union. 17 November 2015. Archived from the original on 18 November 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
^ (Press release). South African Rugby Union. 4 December 2015. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
^. Rugby15. 7 December 2015. Archived from the original on 19 January 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
^. South African Rugby Union. 28 January 2016. Archived from the original on 3 February 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
^"EP Rugby provisionally liquidated". Herald Live. 10 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
^"UK firm revealed as Kings' saviour". Herald Live. 25 May 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
^"EP Kings business rescue hits a snag". Herald Live. 26 July 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
^"It's official: EP Kings liquidated". SA Rugby Magazine. 4 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
^"EP Kings confirmed in Currie Cup Premier Division with Municipal support" (Press release). South African Rugby Union. 4 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
^"Eastern Province Elephants squad". SA Rugby. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
eastern, province, elephants, known, multisure, sponsorship, reasons, south, african, rugby, union, team, that, participates, annual, currie, rugby, challenge, competitions, they, governed, eastern, province, rugby, union, epru, rugby, team, represents, wester. The Eastern Province Elephants known as the Multisure Eastern Province Elephants for sponsorship reasons are a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup and Rugby Challenge competitions They are governed by the Eastern Province Rugby Union EPRU or EP Rugby The team represents the Western half of the Eastern Cape province and they play their home games at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth Eastern Province ElephantsFull nameEastern Province ElephantsUnionEastern Province Rugby UnionFounded1888RegionWestern half of the Eastern Cape South AfricaGround s Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium Capacity 48 000 PresidentMaasdorp CannonCoach es Dumisani MhaniCaptain s Garrick MattheusLeague s Currie Cup First Division2022Runners up 2nd on logTeam kitOfficial websitewww wbr eprugby wbr co wbr zaCurrent seasonIn February 2018 the EPRU announced that the name of the team would revert to Eastern Province Elephants for the 2018 season 1 Contents 1 History 1 1 Professionalism and Super Rugby 1 2 Financial problems and liquidation 2 Stadium 3 Honours 4 Results by season 5 Current season 6 Current squad 7 Team officials 8 Records 9 References 10 External linksHistory EditThe Eastern Province Rugby Football Union was founded in 1888 The team was originally a representative team drawing players from within the provincial union area s local clubs Professionalism and Super Rugby Edit The team was known as the Eastern Province Kings from 2010 to 2017 However with the advent of professionalism in rugby union in 1995 the team contracted players from various areas The Eastern Province Elephants is a professional team run by the EPRU who are also responsible for junior representative rugby teams and administrative matters in the region Prior to 2010 they were known as the Mighty Elephants but in order to align themselves with the Super Rugby side the Southern Kings who were also governed by the EPRU they changed their name to Eastern Province Kings After the 2010 World Cup they moved their offices to the new Port Elizabeth Stadium to establish their new headquarters The team is the primary feeder to the Southern Kings which also incorporates the Border Bulldogs and the SWD Eagles 2 Financial problems and liquidation Edit After late payments of player salaries throughout most of the 2015 season it came to a head in November 2015 when the EPRU failed to meet a final deadline imposed by the South African Rugby Players Association All players contracts were declared null and void leading to an exodus of players 3 A few days later the South African Rugby Union announced that they would take control of the affiliated Southern Kings Super Rugby franchise 4 and released an operational plan in early December which indicated that SARU would operate the franchise independently from the Eastern Province Kings 5 After a petition handed to president Cheeky Watson in which players announced their refusal to play for the Eastern Province Kings or Southern Kings until certain issues were sorted out 6 was not met the South African Rugby Players Association submitted a liquidation application in January 2016 against EP Rugby Pty Ltd on behalf of eighteen Eastern Province Kings players who were not included in the Southern Kings Super Rugby squad for 2016 and have not received their salaries since September 2015 7 The Port Elizabeth High Court provisionally liquidated Eastern Province Rugby in March 2016 and imposed a deadline of 10 May 2016 to pay outstanding player salaries before the liquidation order would being made final 8 The Eastern Province Kings submitted details of a rescue package to the High Court in May 2016 9 which saw the liquidation order being postponed until 4 August 2016 In July 2016 it emerged that the rescue package would not come to fruition and SARU withdrew their appeal against the final liquidation order 10 On 4 August 2016 the High Court ruled that the Eastern Province Kings should be liquidated 11 Within hours of the liquidation being finalised SARU released a statement that an Eastern Province Kings team funded by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality would continue to participate in the 2016 Currie Cup Premier Division 12 Stadium EditThe team was originally based at St George s Park This was also where the very first South African Rugby and Cricket Tests took place They shared the ground with the Eastern Province cricket team In 1959 the EPRU decided to move the team to the then named Boet Erasmus Stadium and the inauguration took place in 1960 with the test between the Springboks and Scotland on 30 April 1960 The stadium was later named Telkom Park due to a naming rights deal and then renamed to the current name the EPRU Stadium The team played most home matches at the stadium with a few hosted at other venues in Port Elizabeth and surrounding towns During the late 2000s the team shared the stadium with football soccer club Bay United In 2009 the team played its first match at their current home the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium Honours EditThe team s major tournament wins include the 2002 Vodacom Shield 2010 Currie Cup First Division and 2012 Currie Cup First Division Results by season EditThe table below indicates the Elephants recent finishes This includes games played as Eastern Province Eastern Province Kings and Mighty Elephants Currie CupSeason Pool group No of teams Position Play off result1988 Currie Cup Division A 7 6th1989 Currie Cup Division A 8 8th1990 Currie Cup Division A 8 5th1991 Currie Cup 6 6th1992 Currie Cup 6 6th1993 Currie Cup 6 3rd1994 Currie Cup 6 6th1995 Currie Cup 6 5th1996 Currie Cup Section A 7 5th1997 Currie Cup 14 14th1998 Currie Cup 14 9th1999 Currie Cup 14 7th2000 Currie Cup Section X 7 5thBankfin Cup1 6 1st Losing Finalists2001 Currie Cup Section X 7 7thBankfin Cup1 6 3rd2002 Currie Cup Section Y 7 7thBankfin Cup1 6 3rd2003 Currie Cup Qualifying 8 6thFirst Division 6 3rd2004 First Division 6 5th2005 Premier Division Section X 7 5thFirst Division Section X2 3 2nd Losing Semi Finalists2006 First Division 6 4th Losing Finalists2007 First Division 6 2nd Losing Finalists2008 First Division 6 6th2009 First Division 6 4th Losing Semi Finalists2010 First Division 6 2nd ChampionsPromotion Relegation 2 2nd Failed to win promotion2011 First Division 6 2nd Losing Finalists2012 First Division 8 1st ChampionsPromotion Relegation 2 2nd Failed to win promotion2013 First Division 8 2nd Losing Finalists Promoted2014 Premier Division 8 8th2015 Premier Division 8 7th1 Between 2000 and 2002 the top 4 in each section qualified for the Top 8 tournament the bottom 3 in each section for the Bankfin Cup 2 In 2005 the top 4 in each section qualified for the Premier Division the bottom 3 in each section for the First Division Vodacom CupSeason Pool group No of teams Position Play off result1998 Vodacom Cup Section A 7 4th1999 Vodacom Cup Southern Section 7 4th2000 Vodacom Cup Southern Section 7 3rd Losing Quarter Finalists2001 Vodacom Cup Section X 8 5thVodacom Shield1 6 2nd Losing Finalists2002 Vodacom Cup Section X 7 6thVodacom Shield1 6 3rd Champions2003 Vodacom Shield 7 4th Losing Semi Finalists2004 Vodacom Shield 7 6th2005 Vodacom Cup Section X 7 7th2006 Vodacom Cup 14 12th2007 Vodacom Cup Southern Section 7 4th Losing Quarter Finalists2008 Vodacom Cup Southern Section 7 6th2009 Vodacom Cup Southern Section 7 7th2010 Vodacom Cup Southern Section 8 6th2011 Vodacom Cup Southern Section 8 5th2012 Vodacom Cup Southern Section 8 3rd Losing Quarter Finalists2013 Vodacom Cup Southern Section 8 3rd Losing Semi Finalists2014 Vodacom Cup Southern Section 8 5th2015 Vodacom Cup Southern Section 8 5th1 Between 2001 and 2002 the top 4 in each section qualified for the Vodacom Top 8 tournament the bottom 3 in each section for the Vodacom Shield Super 10Season Pool group No of teams Position Play off result1994 Super 10 Pool A 5 5thCurrent season EditFurther information 2016 Eastern Province Kings seasonCurrent squad EditThe following players were included in the Eastern Province Elephants squad for the 2022 Currie Cup First Division 13 Eastern Province Elephants Currie Cup squadProps Duncan Du Buisson Cebo Gidane Luxolo Koza Sibusiso Lali Rob Lyons Sive Mazosiwe Siya Nzuzo Roche van Zyl Vian WolmaransHookers Mzwanele Besman Duan du Plessis Robin StevensLocks Hannes Huisamen Arnold Kleyn Lungi Mbiko Jaco Willemse Stefan Willemse Loose forwards Zingisa April Billy Dutton Laken Gray Gerrit Huisamen Athenkosi Manentsa Tiaan Vermaak Diego WilliamsScrum halves Chucky Ismail Rouche Nel Sacha ToringFly halves Luvo Claassen Garrick Mattheus c Centres Athi Mayinje Aya Oliphant Merlynn Pieterse Josiah Twum BoafoWingers Riaan Arends Rodney Damons Dayle Nel Qeutyne OersonFullbacks Masixole Banda Mbembe Payi Davian Swanepoel c Denotes team captain and Bold denotes internationally capped Team officials EditCoachesPeter de Villiers Head coachSivuyile Kobokana Forwards coachGarrin August Backs coachThando Manana Team managerRecords EditEastern Province Elephants records 14 Team match recordsRecord Opposition Venue SeasonBiggest win Welwitschias Adcock Stadium Port Elizabeth 2001 110 17Biggest Currie Cup win Griffons Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium Port Elizabeth 2013 63 7Heaviest defeat Griquas Griqua Park Kimberley 1998 12 80Heaviest Currie Cup defeat Northern Transvaal 1984 3 65Highest score Welwitschias Adcock Stadium Port Elizabeth 2001 110Most points conceded Griquas Griqua Park Kimberley 1998 80Most tries Welwitschias Adcock Stadium Port Elizabeth 2001 16Most Currie Cup tries Griffons Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium Port Elizabeth 2011 11Player match recordsRecord Player Opposition Venue SeasonMost points by a player Hennie le Roux Eastern Transvaal Boet Erasmus Stadium Port Elizabeth 1991 38Most Currie Cup points by a player Bertus Kruger Western Transvaal 1996 29Most tries by a player Erich Knoetze Stellaland Rustenburg 1991 5Frikkie Crous Western Transvaal Boet Erasmus Stadium Port Elizabeth 1994 5Norman Nelson Falcons Barnard Stadium Kempton Park 2010 5Team season recordsRecord Matches SeasonMost team points in 27 matches 2012 875Most Currie Cup team points in 27 matches 2012 611Most team tries in 24 matches 2003 103in 27 matches 2012 103Most Currie Cup team tries in 18 matches 2012 76Player season recordsRecord Player SeasonMost points by a player Bertus Kruger 1996 282Most Currie Cup points by a player Brett Hennessey 2002 153Most tries by a player Manie van Vuuren 1994 14Henry Pedro 1998 14Fabian Juries 2003 14Most Currie Cup tries by a player Henry Pedro 1998 13Luke Watson 2012 13Player career recordsRecord Player SeasonsMost appearances Barry Pinnock 1993 2002 173Most points Giepie van Zyl 1981 1988 1 126Most Currie Cup points Giepie van Zyl 1981 1988 755Most tries Norman Nelson 2006 2013 56References Edit EP s rugby jumbo resurrected Herald Live 2 February 2018 Retrieved 1 March 2018 Name change for EP Rugby Sport24 14 July 2010 Retrieved 14 July 2010 Kings facing player exodus Rugby365 11 November 2015 Retrieved 11 November 2015 SARU steps in to assist the Southern Kings Super Rugby franchise Press release South African Rugby Union 17 November 2015 Archived from the original on 18 November 2015 Retrieved 17 November 2015 SA Rugby unveils Southern Kings management team and operational plan Press release South African Rugby Union 4 December 2015 Archived from the original on 8 December 2015 Retrieved 4 December 2015 EP Kings players hand over petition to Watson Rugby15 7 December 2015 Archived from the original on 19 January 2016 Retrieved 7 December 2015 Southern Kings unaffected by liquidation application against EP Rugby Pty Ltd South African Rugby Union 28 January 2016 Archived from the original on 3 February 2016 Retrieved 29 January 2016 EP Rugby provisionally liquidated Herald Live 10 March 2016 Retrieved 10 March 2016 UK firm revealed as Kings saviour Herald Live 25 May 2016 Retrieved 4 August 2016 EP Kings business rescue hits a snag Herald Live 26 July 2016 Retrieved 4 August 2016 It s official EP Kings liquidated SA Rugby Magazine 4 August 2016 Retrieved 4 August 2016 EP Kings confirmed in Currie Cup Premier Division with Municipal support Press release South African Rugby Union 4 August 2016 Retrieved 4 August 2016 Eastern Province Elephants squad SA Rugby Retrieved 29 March 2022 SA Rugby Annual 2014 South African Rugby Union 2014 p 251 ISBN 978 0 620 57859 2 External links EditOfficial website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Eastern Province Elephants amp oldid 1094916719, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
