EP Kings have Kempson at the helm

Chief Operating Officer, Debbie Ellis, confirmed the appointment and stated that preparations were well underway to field a competitive team for the competition – made up of Academy players as well as members of their 2015 Under-19 and U21 Currie Cup squads.

"Due to the current situation, and having lost a number of senior players, our focus has been on retaining the up and coming talent that the Kings Academy has been developing.

"A number of the players currently training with the team are Academy players, as well as members of last year's U19 and U21 Currie Cup squads, who have come through the local school structures and are the future stars of the region," Ellis said.

Last year, the EP Kings U19 team walked away as champions of the U19 Premier Division competition, winning 11 of their 12 games. This after having secured promotion in the playoffs, after having won the First Division competition, in 2013.

Kempson said he was looking forward to coaching the Currie Cup side and working with the young players.

"There has been a lot of hard work put in over the past five years, since the Academy was established, to identify and develop talented players from the region and to keep them here.

"The purpose of creating a career pathway for these players within the province, where they are given exposure through the junior competitions before going into Currie Cup and then potentially into Super Rugby and on to represent South Africa, cannot simply fall away due to the current challenges being faced," he said.

The provisional squad have been holding regular training and conditioning sessions at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. Ellis said the union was also currently engaging with the Southern Kings Super Rugby franchise to look at securing some of their non-playing players to bolster the Currie Cup squad.