Border Rugby Club Berlin Tigers have cried foul over the inclusion of the Walter Sisulu University Eagles in the Eastern Cape Super 14 ahead of them.
Tigers say that, according to the tournament’s rules, educational institutions are not allowed to participate in the provincial tournament starting on February 14.
The Super 14 competition consists of eight teams from Border and eight from Eastern Province.
Seven of the Border teams come from the unions’ top flight, the Super League, based on their log rankings, and the eighth spot is a wildcard.
In previous years, the wildcard had usually been the top-performing and champion of Border’s second-tier Premier League.
The WSU Eagles were the winners of that league.
Tigers made reference to the competition’s handbook rule number one, which reads, “The seven clubs shall exclude any university club team who may be in the respective Top 7.
“The steering committee will then select the eighth club from each union by choosing the club to participate at their own discretion, keeping in mind the issues of representability and geographical spread ( rural versus urban).”
Berlin Tigers’ secretary Leo Mbini believes that since the Premier league winner is a tertiary institution, the Tigers, who finished second in the Premier League, should be included as the next-best community club side for the last spot from Border.
“I have sent letters to Border and the steering committee in the past few weeks asking what the reasons are behind WSU Eagles being included in the competition because, traditionally, universities, according to the rules, have not been allowed,” Mbini said.
”We want to get clarity from Border as to why they submitted the WSU Eagles, and the provincial competition is about to start in the coming days.
“WSU All Blacks and Fort Hare Blues have been playing in Border leagues and have been top of the leagues but have never qualified for the Super 14.
“Yes, we get WSU Eagles are a different entity and not going to play in the Varsity Shield, but the rules stipulate it’s a non-university competition.
“We have spoken to the other clubs as well about the matter because this will affect some clubs as well in the years to come.
“There’s Lovedale College, for instance, which plays in the Premier League as well.
“Let’s say they are champions of the Premier League one day.
“What happens then because they are not a club? They are a tertiary institution, though they are not playing in the Varsity Shield.
“The Super 14 gives a big financial boost for clubs in the province.
“If you take the spot from a community club and give it to a tertiary institution, you should provide a proper explanation,” he said.
The WSU Eagles cater mostly to players based at the Mthatha and Butterworth region campuses, while the WSU All Blacks are made up of a majority of players from the East London region.
Border rugby president Zuko Badli said the nomination of a team for the wild card was the prerogative of the union which then submitted it to the steering committee of the Super 14 for approval.
He said no team was entitled to be nominated or elected for a wild card and that “it’s discretionary”.
He said the exclusion of the universities was based on the fact that they participated in the Varsity Shield which ran at the same time as the Super 14 and as such were not able to field a team for the Super 14.
“That’s the context of the exclusion. They are not excluded because they are universities,” Badli said.
“WSU Eagles does not participate in the Varsity Shield and is a separate team from WSU All Blacks, that is why they will both be competing at the BRU Super League this year."
He dismissed the Tigers’ allegation that its correspondence was not answered by Border Rugby.
Daily Dispatch
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