Leinster head to South Africa to face Southern Kings and Cheetahs in new Pro14

No side in superugby from the Saders downwards would have survived the loss of playing personnel that the Kings have. When it was first announced that they would be culled from the tournament their good players all left. An example is Chris Cloete. Who is he ? Well look at Superugby stats 2017 , the highest turnovers of the entire competition. Yes. He is now playing for a minor team from a university town The Pumas in the Currie Cup. ..Guess what ...they are doing extremely well.

Good stuff?

3,000 odd reported at Kings v Leinster game although some say it was more like 300. 20,000 reported at Cheetahs v Zebre game. Plenty of excitement and 13 tries at that one with Cheetahs running out eventual winners - highlights from Bloem here - https://www.reddit.com/r/rugbyunion/comments/70lnry/cheetahs_v_zebre_highlights_pro14_rd3_5m00s/

Where was the crowd? I always wondered where the appetite would be to watch these SA teams in a fairly pale imitation of Super Rugby and judging by that crowd there isn't one

While I am punting P.E. NV , within an hour or 2 driving distance you can surf the world famous super tubes or visit some of South Africa's best game reserves. But it is on the edge of the Karoo that gets me going . This is a semi desert region the size of Germany that is very special. You mentioned on Another post about the Northern Lights , something I have ever experienced . What I have though is the Karoo night sky. It is awe inspiring . One cannot even begin to describe the intensity of stars . You feel you can reach out and touch them . One can sit under the coolness of the worlds largest grapevine in Graaf Reinnette sampling the local wine and eating the famous Karoo lamb or ...and this is another best kept secret .....visit a tiny town called Nieu Bethesda . An artist colony literally in the middle of nowhere where the pub only opens at 5.00 pm and the sense of peace and tranquility amongst its inhabitants is impossible to articulate . You may never want to leave . Every small village or town has a rugby field , usually as prominent as the town hall.

Am feeling some pain . But emotional pain only has meaning with introspection . And introspection only has meaning with action.

Thanks for an amazing comment DavSA How about them All Blacks? ;)

Oh absolutely, just interested in the home and away differences for now. Have any matches been played in SA yet?

Unfortunately no ,NV I do not live there anymore . Am in the Johaanesburg region for a ew years now . This is where the business is. P.E will support rugby . They have a tremendous rugby culture . Some of the all time greats of the game are from there. Danie Gerber a good example. Alastair Coetzee by the way is home grown .They turned their backs on The Kings because they were sick and tired of the politics that Cheeky Watson as well as his predecessor Philip Joseph brought in at the expense of good rugby. We're just starting to return towards the end of Last Superugby season and you well remember the crowd at the test match a few weeks ago . They have some of the best schoolboy teams and a great club rugby set up. Crusaders rugby club Is the oldest in SA .....under correction but think also in the world . The University has a food sports science facility and what a great stadium . P.E is also indisputably the home of black rugby in SA . Kolisi is a local lad . So they have so much going for them rugby wise which makes it sad that a few over ambitious individuals should have ruined it for them. But I don't expect huge crowds , may be wrong . The p.E folk like any other in the world support teams that win . Let's see. L

Will you go to any Pro14 game this season? Very curious what kind of attendance numbers the SA teams in Pro14 will attract.

I lived in P.E for 23 years . It is South Africa's best kept secret . Absolutely wonderful city to live in . ...The altitude will .not be an issue, but the heat will . It will be hot and unlike the Highveld does not cool down come evening time . The NH sides will feel ....the heat.

Ha the moderators finally release a moderate and I might add factual comment. Took some time though.

Yes Carlos , unfortunately South Africa has been identified by Intellgence Agencies abroad as a popular safe haven and transit destination for both international crime syndicates as well as Islamic fundamentalists . We have a large Muslim population who are very sympathetic to the Jihad cause . The knock on to that is SA citizens traveling are now subject to increased scrutiny.

Kings play in PE which is sea level mate :-) Disappointing start for the SA, although they are missing better players they had in their Super Rugby campaigns. Hopefully they pull it together!

Yep. A home win dependency might not get them playoff spots though. Previously you needed to win about a minimum 12/13 games to get into top 6. With two conferences it might be different if it turns out that one conference is more hotly contested

Yep. Buck stops with Leinster. They've said it's their fault that it got missed.

It's been discussed at the moment to get the Cheetahs in to the Currie Cup semis to defend their title. The Currie Cup is being review again after this year especially in regards to the time slot. I've seen talk floating around that the Cheetahs are opening their stadium free for the Zebre match and guaranteed 24,000 to attend the match at least through their sponsor.

A query on the Currie Cup. The Cheetahs play in this but also in the Pro 14. Is the Cheetahs team in the Currie Cup their reserve grade side?

These matches will be interesting...matches with SA sides are heavily influenced by home and away...

Agree with Machpants. This falls first and foremost on Leinster and secondly on Pro14. Poor planning. Poor information. But stuff like this is sort of expected. There will always be some child-diseases after a big change to/in the set-up. They will learn from it ;)