Shimlas stars to beef up the Kings?
The EP Kings, who could be back in the Currie Cup Premier Division next year, will be relying on a host of Varsity Cup stars – mainly from the FNB Shimlas – to bolster their resources ahead of the 2011 season.
According to Sport24, hooker Frank Herne, flyhalf-cum-fullback George Whitehead and winger Beast Ndwandwa (pictured) will all be joining the Kings in 2011.
Whitehead and Ndwandwa were key men for the Shimlas in the 2010 Varsity Cup – as they qualified for a first-ever semifinal – whilst Herne captained the Free State Under-21 team this year.
It seems that Whitehead will still play for the Shimlas in next year’s Varsity Cup, but Herne and Ndwandwa could bolster the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University’s ranks; along with, reportedly, one or two UCT players who could also be moving to play for the Kings in 2011.
Meanwhile, another former Varsity Cup star, Maties’ Charl Weideman, looks set to also join the Kings.
Weideman, a wing or centre, joined the Griffons after the Varsity Cup and would be a shrewd signing for the PE-based side next year.
This year alone, the likes of Maties stars Michael de Neuilly-Rice, Andrè Schlechter and Donald Stevens, along with Shimlas players Gerrie Odendaal and Wayne Stevens and former UCT skipper JJ Gagiano, have turned out for the Kings – having all played Varsity Cup rugby at some point between 2008 and 2010.
* Of course, this weekend the Kings are involved in a winner-takes-all Currie Cup promotion/relegation second leg clash against the Pumas in Port Elizabeth.
After last week’s 36-36 draw in Witbank, the winner of Friday’s clash in PE will play in the Premier Division next year.
