Eastern Province Kings

Full name

Eastern Province Kings

Union

Eastern Province Rugby Union

Founded

1888

Region

Western half of the Eastern Cape, South Africa

Ground(s)

Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (Capacity: 48,000)

Director of Rugby

Vacant

Coach(es)

Robbi Kempson

Captain(s)

Jeremy Ward

League(s)

Currie Cup

2015 Currie Cup Premier Division

7th

Team kit

Official website

www.eprugby.co.za

Current season

The Eastern Province Kings are a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup 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.

History

The team was originally a representative team, drawing players from within the provincial union area's local clubs. However, with the advent of professionalism in rugby union in 1995, the team now directly contracts players from various areas. The team now operates more like a professional club, though the EPRU are still 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 are also governed by the EPRU, they changed their name to Eastern Province Kings. The team is the primary feeder to the Southern Kings, which also incorporates the Border Bulldogs and the SWD Eagles.^[1]

Stadium

The team was originally based at St George's Park. 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. 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

The team's major tournament wins include the 2002 Vodacom Shield, 2010 Currie Cup First Division and 2012 Currie Cup First Division.

Results by season

The table below indicates the Kings' recent finishes. This includes games played as Eastern Province, Eastern Province Kings and Mighty Elephants.

Currie Cup
Season	Pool/Group	No of Teams	Position	Play-Off Result
1988	Currie Cup Division A	7	6th
1989	Currie Cup Division A	8	8th
1990	Currie Cup Division A	8	5th
1991	Currie Cup	6	6th
1992	Currie Cup	6	6th
1993	Currie Cup	6	3rd
1994	Currie Cup	6	6th
1995	Currie Cup	6	5th
1996	Currie Cup Section A	7	5th
1997	Currie Cup	14	14th
1998	Currie Cup	14	9th
1999	Currie Cup	14	7th
2000	Currie Cup Section X	7	5th
2000	Bankfin Cup¹	6	1st	Losing Finalists
2001	Currie Cup Section X	7	7th
2001	Bankfin Cup¹	6	3rd
2002	Currie Cup Section Y	7	7th
2002	Bankfin Cup¹	6	3rd
2003	Currie Cup Qualifying	8	6th
2003	First Division	6	3rd
2004	First Division	6	5th
2005	Premier Division Section X	7	5th
2005	First Division Section X²	3	2nd	Losing Semi-Finalists
2006	First Division	6	4th	Losing Finalists
2007	First Division	6	2nd	Losing Finalists
2008	First Division	6	6th
2009	First Division	6	4th	Losing Semi-Finalists
2010	First Division	6	2nd	Champions
2010	Promotion/Relegation	2	2nd	Failed to win promotion
2011	First Division	6	2nd	Losing Finalists
2012	First Division	8	1st	Champions
2012	Promotion/Relegation	2	2nd	Failed to win promotion
2013	First Division	8	2nd	Losing Finalists, Promoted
2014	Premier Division	8	8th
2015	Premier Division	8	7th

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.

Vodacom Cup
Season	Pool/Group	No of Teams	Position	Play-Off Result
1998	Vodacom Cup Section A	7	4th
1999	Vodacom Cup Southern Section	7	4th
2000	Vodacom Cup Southern Section	7	3rd	Losing Quarter Finalists
2001	Vodacom Cup Section X	8	5th
2001	Vodacom Shield¹	6	2nd	Losing Finalists
2002	Vodacom Cup Section X	7	6th
2002	Vodacom Shield¹	6	3rd	Champions
2003	Vodacom Shield	7	4th	Losing Semi-Finalists
2004	Vodacom Shield	7	6th
2005	Vodacom Cup Section X	7	7th
2006	Vodacom Cup	14	12th
2007	Vodacom Cup Southern Section	7	4th	Losing Quarter Finalists
2008	Vodacom Cup Southern Section	7	6th
2009	Vodacom Cup Southern Section	7	7th
2010	Vodacom Cup Southern Section	8	6th
2011	Vodacom Cup Southern Section	8	5th
2012	Vodacom Cup Southern Section	8	3rd	Losing Quarter Finalists
2013	Vodacom Cup Southern Section	8	3rd	Losing Semi-Finalists
2014	Vodacom Cup Southern Section	8	5th
2015	Vodacom Cup Southern Section	8	5th

¹ 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 10
Season	Pool/Group	No of Teams	Position	Play-Off Result
1994	Super 10 Pool A	5	5th

Current season

For more details on this topic, see 2016 Eastern Province Kings season.

Players

First team

The following players are contracted to the Eastern Province Kings and were included in their squad for the 2016 Currie Cup qualification series:^[2]

Eastern Province Kings Currie Cup qualification squad
Props Louis Albertse ^loan Liam Hendricks ^loan Greg Jackson David Murray Nicolaas Oosthuizen Vukile Sofisa Roché van Zyl Hookers Tango Balekile Martin Bezuidenhout ^loan JP Jamieson Warrick Venter Locks Lusanda Badiyana Philip du Preez ^loan Tazz Fuzani ^loan Wynand Grassmann Cornell Hess ^loan Gerrit Huisamen Sintu Manjezi	Loose Forwards Brandon Brown Jacques Engelbrecht ^loan JP Jonck ^loan SF Nieuwoudt Tyler Paul ^loan Junior Pokomela ^loan Hayden Tharratt Stephan Zaayman Scrum-halves Davron Cameron Chuma Faas Sibusiso Ngcokovane Franswa Ueckermann Fly-halves Simon Bolze Michael Brink Jordan Koekemoer Garrick Mattheus Warren Swarts	Centres JP du Plessis ^loan Riaan Esterhuizen Somila Jho Jeremy Ward (c) Wingers Athi Mayinje Jixie Molapo Sphu Msutwana Yaw Penxe Lindelwe Zungu Fullbacks Thaki Boloko Keanu Vers Courtney Winnaar

(c) denotes team captain. ^loan denotes players on loan from the Kings Super Rugby side.

Player Statistics

The statistics for the current Eastern Province Kings players:

Eastern Province Kings Player Statistics ·
Name	Position	Date of Birth	Nationality	Apps	Points	Debut	Level
Louis Albertse	Prop	(1990-04-02) 2 April 1990	South Africa	4	(0)	2016
Vukile Sofisa	Prop	(1993-04-06) 6 April 1993	South Africa	8	(0)	2014
Liam Hendricks	Prop	(1994-05-31) 31 May 1994	South Africa	1	(0)	2016
Greg Jackson	Prop	(1996-03-07) 7 March 1996	South Africa	1	(0)	2016
David Murray	Prop	(1995-03-07) 7 March 1995	South Africa	2	(0)	2016
Nicolaas Oosthuizen	Prop	(1996-11-19) 19 November 1996	South Africa	1	(0)	2016
Roché van Zyl	Prop	(1996-06-14) 14 June 1996	South Africa	0	(0)	–
Martin Bezuidenhout	Hooker	(1989-08-21) 21 August 1989	South Africa	0	(0)	–
Tango Balekile	Hooker	(1996-03-07) 7 March 1996	South Africa	1	(0)	2016
JP Jamieson	Hooker	(1995-02-15) 15 February 1995	South Africa	3	(0)	2016
Warrick Venter	Hooker	(1993-02-12) 12 February 1993	South Africa	4	(0)	2016
Tazz Fuzani	Lock	(1991-01-18) 18 January 1991	South Africa	7	(0)	2015
Cornell Hess	Lock	(1989-03-01) 1 March 1989	South Africa	13	(0)	2015
Philip du Preez	Lock	(1993-08-01) 1 August 1993	South Africa	1	(0)	2016
Sintu Manjezi	Lock	(1995-04-07) 7 April 1995	South Africa	1	(0)	2016
Lusanda Badiyana	Lock	(1996-09-01) 1 September 1996	South Africa	0	(0)	–
Wynand Grassmann	Lock	(1995-01-19) 19 January 1995	South Africa	0	(0)	–
Gerrit Huisamen	Lock	(1995-03-07) 7 March 1995	South Africa	0	(0)	–
Stephan Zaayman	Flanker	(1993-06-18) 18 June 1993	South Africa	6	(0)	2013
Tyler Paul	Flanker	(1995-01-20) 20 January 1995	South Africa	3	(0)	2014
JP Jonck	Flanker	(1991-12-07) 7 December 1991	South Africa	1	(0)	2016
SF Nieuwoudt	Flanker	(1996-08-27) 27 August 1996	South Africa	1	(0)	2016
Brandon Brown	Flanker	(1994-11-16) 16 November 1994	South Africa	0	(0)	–
Hayden Tharratt	Flanker	(1996-02-16) 16 February 1996	South Africa	0	(0)	–
Junior Pokomela	No 8	(1996-12-10) 10 December 1996	South Africa	1	(0)	2016
Davron Cameron	Scrum-half	(1996-06-08) 8 June 1996	South Africa	1	(0)	2016
Chuma Faas	Scrum-half	(1990-01-22) 22 January 1990	South Africa	1	(0)	2016
Sibusiso Ngcokovane	Scrum-half	(1996-02-17) 17 February 1996	South Africa	0	(0)	–
Franswa Ueckermann	Scrum-half	(1994-01-06) 6 January 1994	South Africa	0	(0)	–
Michael Brink	Fly-half	(1996-09-24) 24 September 1996	South Africa	1	(4)	2016
Simon Bolze	Fly-half	(1995-07-30) 30 July 1995	South Africa	0	(0)	–
Garrick Mattheus	Fly-half	(1996-03-23) 23 March 1996	South Africa	0	(0)	–
Warren Swarts	Fly-half	(1994-12-12) 12 December 1994	South Africa	0	(0)	–
Somila Jho	Centre	(1995-08-25) 25 August 1995	South Africa	1	(0)	2016
Jeremy Ward	Centre	(1996-01-10) 10 January 1996	South Africa	1	(5)	2016
Riaan Esterhuizen	Centre	(1994-08-08) 8 August 1994	South Africa	0	(0)	–
Sphu Msutwana	Wing	(1993-10-31) 31 October 1993	South Africa	6	(0)	2014
Athi Mayinje	Wing	(1996-01-18) 18 January 1996	South Africa	1	(0)	2016
Jixie Molapo	Wing	(1995-01-02) 2 January 1995	South Africa	1	(0)	2016
Yaw Penxe	Wing	(1997-04-03) 3 April 1997	South Africa	0	(0)	–
Lindelwe Zungu	Wing	(1995-05-16) 16 May 1995	South Africa	0	(0)	–
Keanu Vers	Fullback	(1996-02-04) 4 February 1996	South Africa	1	(0)	2016
Courtney Winnaar	Fullback	(1997-03-27) 27 March 1997	South Africa	1	(0)	2016
Thaki Boloko	Fullback	(1997-03-04) 4 March 1997	South Africa	0	(0)	–

Correct as at 13 April 2016.
indicates the player represented the Southern Kings at Super Rugby level. indicates the player represented the Eastern Province Kings at Currie Cup level. indicates the player represented the Eastern Province Kings at Vodacom Cup / Provincial Cup level.

Team Officials

Coaches
Robbi Kempson	Head Coach
Zondi Soloshe	Team Manager
Kyle Meyer	Physiotherapist
Eric Fisher	Strength & Conditioning Coach
Dr Clement Plaatjies	Team doctor
Sean O'Dea	Performance Analyst
Zuko Ndlela	Assistant Performance Analyst
Phiwe Nomlomo	Academy Coach

Records

Eastern Province Kings records:^[3]

Team Match Records
Record	Opposition	Venue	Season
Biggest win:	Welwitschias	Adcock Stadium, Port Elizabeth	2001	110–17
Biggest Currie Cup win:	Griffons	Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth	2013	63–7
Heaviest defeat:	Griquas	Griqua Park, Kimberley	1998	12–80
Heaviest Currie Cup defeat:	Northern Transvaal		1984	3–65
Highest score:	Welwitschias	Adcock Stadium, Port Elizabeth	2001	110
Most points conceded:	Griquas	Griqua Park, Kimberley	1998	80
Most tries:	Welwitschias	Adcock Stadium, Port Elizabeth	2001	16
Most Currie Cup tries:	Griffons	Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth	2011	11

Player Match Records
Record	Player	Opposition	Venue	Season
Most points by a player:	Hennie le Roux	Eastern Transvaal	Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth	1991	38
Most Currie Cup points by a player:	Bertus Kruger	Western Transvaal		1996	29
Most tries by a player:	Erich Knoetze	Stellaland	Rustenburg	1991	5
	Frikkie Crous	Western Transvaal	Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth	1994	5
	Norman Nelson	Falcons	Barnard Stadium, Kempton Park	2010	5

Team Season Records
Record	Matches	Season
Most team points:	in 27 matches	2012	875
Most Currie Cup team points:	in 27 matches	2012	611
Most team tries:	in 24 matches	2003	103
Most team tries:	in 27 matches	2012	103
Most Currie Cup team tries:	in 18 matches	2012	76

Player Season Records
Record	Player	Season
Most points by a player:	Bertus Kruger	1996	282
Most Currie Cup points by a player:	Brett Hennessey	2002	153
Most tries by a player:	Manie van Vuuren	1994	14
	Henry Pedro	1998	14
	Fabian Juries	2003	14
Most Currie Cup tries by a player:	Henry Pedro	1998	13
Most Currie Cup tries by a player:	Luke Watson	2012	13

Player Career Records
Record	Player	Seasons
Most appearances:	Barry Pinnock	1993–2002	173
Most points:	Giepie van Zyl	1981–88	1126
Most Currie Cup points:	Giepie van Zyl	1981–88	755
Most tries:	Norman Nelson	2006–13	56

References

↑ "Name change for EP Rugby". Sport24. 2010-07-14. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
↑ "EP Kings announce their squad ahead of Currie Cup campaign". Rugby15. 1 April 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
↑ SA Rugby Annual 2014. South African Rugby Union. 2014. p. 251. ISBN 978-0-620-57859-2.

External links

Eastern Province Kings

Stadiums	EPRU Stadium Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium

Competitions	Currie Cup Vodacom Cup

Seasons	2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Related team	Southern Kings

Currie Cup

Teams

Seasons

Board Trophy:	1889

Amateur era:	1892 1894 1895 1897 1898 1899 1904 1906 1908 1911 1914 1920 1922 1925 1927 1929 1932 1934 1936 1939 1946 1947 1950 1952 1954 1956 1957–59 1964 1966 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 Div A Div B Tphy A Tphy B 1989 Div A Div B Tphy A Tphy B 1990 Div A Div B Tphy 1991 CC Div A Div B Div C Div D 1992 CC Cen A Cen B Rur A/B Rur B 1993 1994 1995

Professional era:	1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 Top 8 Bf Cup Qual 2001 Top 8 Bf Cup Qual 2002 2003 2004 Prem 1st 2005 Prem 1st 2006 Prem 1st 2007 Prem 1st 2008 Prem 1st 2009 Prem 1st 2010 Prem 1st 2011 Prem 1st 2012 Prem 1st 2013 Prem 1st 2014 Prem 1st Qual 2015 Prem 1st Qual 2016 Prem 1st Qual

Vodacom Cup

Teams	Blue Bulls Boland Cavaliers Border Bulldogs Eastern Province Kings Falcons Free State XV Golden Lions Griffons Griquas Leopards XV Limpopo Blue Bulls Pampas XV Pumas Sharks XV Simba XV SWD Eagles Welwitschias Western Province

Seasons	1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Rugby union in South Africa

Governing body

South African Rugby Union

National teams

Men's	Springboks Emerging Springboks 7's Amateurs U-21 U-20 U-19 Schoolboys

Women's	Women's 7's

Competitions

International	South Africa at the Rugby World Cup World Rugby Sevens Series South Africa Sevens World Rugby Under 20 Championship Super Rugby

Provincial	Currie Cup Vodacom Cup

Club	SARU Gold Cup Varsity Rugby

Youth rugby	Craven Week

Eastern Province Kings squad – 2016

Forwards	Louis Albertse Lusanda Badiyana Tango Balekile Martin Bezuidenhout Brandon Brown Philip du Preez Jacques Engelbrecht Tazz Fuzani Wynand Grassmann Liam Hendricks Cornell Hess Gerrit Huisamen Greg Jackson JP Jamieson JP Jonck Sintu Manjezi David Murray SF Nieuwoudt Nicolaas Oosthuizen Tyler Paul Junior Pokomela Vukile Sofisa Hayden Tharratt Roché van Zyl Warrick Venter Stephan Zaayman

Backs	Thaki Boloko Simon Bolze Michael Brink Davron Cameron JP du Plessis Riaan Esterhuizen Chuma Faas Somila Jho Jordan Koekemoer Garrick Mattheus Athi Mayinje Jixie Molapo Sphu Msutwana Sibusiso Ngcokovane Yaw Penxe Warren Swarts Franswa Ueckermann Keanu Vers Jeremy Ward Courtney Winnaar Lindelwe Zungu

Coach	Robbi Kempson

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