(Photo by Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
Well, well, well. As much as we wanted to believe SA Rugby about the Southern Kings' chances of making it into the expanded Super 15, there was always a little voice in the back of our minds, referred to as Synical Sam (as mentioned to me by a friend), who knew otherwise. The Southern Kings (which Australia and New Zealand still often refer to as the Southern Spears, in what isn’t a surprising scene of deja vu) were meant to be the final piece of the jigsaw that would energise and add some professional structure down in the south-eastern Cape. Alas, it won’t be with the Australians well and truly holding all the aces when it comes to the allocation of the new franchise. It’s not that the South African media and rugby public weren’t tipped off about this outcome. When the new agreement, proposed to broadcasters, was struck leaving the new team marooned in the Australian conference, there was an aura of "someone screwed up here." Right from the get go, South Africa was at a disadvantage, and now SA Rugby are crying over spilt milk, which they themselves got from the cow in the first place. Oregan Hoskins, who certainly has done a much finer job in being the figure head of SA Rugby than his predecessor Brian van Rooyen (to the best of our knowledge anyway), was quoted on Supersport.co.za, saying “Hoskins believes New Zealand and Australia have already made the call that the new team will be based in Melbourne, the Aussies for obvious reasons and the Kiwis because it would mean far less travelling for their teams.” Hoskins continued, saying "We're outvoted anyway, we always are. But I haven't given up. I thought we might actually be able to have a combined franchise
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