In 2015, the will participate in the Currie Cup and the Vodacom Cup competitions. The team will also play in the 2015 Under-21 Provincial Championship Group A and the team in the 2015 Under-19 Provincial Championship Group A. As part of the Southern Kings franchise, a number of players will also participate in friendlies for this franchise.
Chronological list of events
5 November 2014: The squad for the 2015 season is revealed. New recruits include Nathan Daly from English Premiership, Tazz Fuzani and Jan Uys from . 14 November 2014: Winger Paul Perez's contract is terminated with immediate effect after an incident of absenteeism. 17 November 2014: fly-half Tony Jantjies joins the Kings ahead of the 2015 season, defensive coach Michael Horak joins Durban-based side the prior to the 2015 Super Rugby season. and the confirm that Paul Perez joined them on a trial basis. 29 December 2014: Forwards coach Shaun Sowerby also leaves the Kings' coaching staff, returning to France (where he spent ten years as a player) to join as a forwards coach. 14 January 2015: Three players join the Kings on a trial basis – scrum-half Dylon Frylinck, who represented in the 2014 Vodacom Cup, the in the 2014 Super Rugby season and the in the 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division; lock Cornell Hess, who spent 2014 at , but failed to make any appearances following a knee injury and hooker Martin van der Heever, who previously played for in France. 15 January 2015: The Kings officially confirm that Omar Mouneimne rejoined the side as defensive coach. He had a previous spell with the side before following Alan Solomons to Edinburgh in 2013. James Fleming, who previously had a spell at the Kings as a physiotherapist before joining the Sharks for 2014, also returns to the Kings in his new role of Head of High Performance. 19 January 2015: The Eastern Province Kings Academy hand a scholarship to Craven Week and South African Schools prop Lupumlo Mguca to finish his schooling at Burnside High School in Christchurch, New Zealand. 30 January 2015: A 38-man squad for the 2015 Vodacom Cup is revealed. The Kings also confirm that Dylon Frylinck and Cornell Hess were offered contracts for the duration of the Vodacom Cup competition. 2 February 2015: wingers Sylvian Mahuza and Luther Obi are training with the EP Kings. 8 February 2015: Eastern Province and South African Schools fly-half Curwin Bosch is named the 2014 Craven Week Player of the Tournament at the annual South African Rugby Union awards ceremony. 12 February 2015: Lock Steven Sykes joins the on loan for the 2015 Super Rugby season. 25 February 2015: Just over a month after confirming his appointment, the EP Kings announce that defensive coach Omar Mouneimne is leaving them again to take up a consultancy role at French Top 14 side . 27 February 2015: The EP Kings announce that they have come to an arrangement with the for the services of their wingers Sylvian Mahuza and Luther Obi, who will be included in their squad for the 2015 Vodacom Cup. 2 March 2015: Brent Janse van Rensburg is appointed the new Head of Defence at the Kings following his release from the . 6 March 2015: The beat the Eastern Province Kings 31–30 in a pre-season trial match in Port Elizabeth. The Kings scored four tries through Hansie Graaff, George Whitehead, Kevin Luiters and Dylon Frylinck, with Scott van Breda and Tony Jantjies each converting one of those tries. George Whitehead also kicked two penalties in the match. 14 March 2015: The Eastern Province Kings beat the 13–8 in a pre-season trial match. Eital Bredenkamp scored the Kings' only try of the match, with Gary van Aswegen converting the try and kicking two penalties. 25 March 2015: Three players are named in an extended South Africa Under-20 training group as part of their preparation for the 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship – fullback Malcolm Jaer and flankers Tyler Paul and CJ Velleman. 27 March 2015: Prop Charl du Plessis announces his retirement from rugby following medical advice regarding persistent back problems. He made 31 appearances for the since 2012 and also played in 2 Super Rugby matches for the , plus one leg of the relegation play-off series against the . 9 June 2015: Defense coach Brent Janse van Rensburg is appointed the new head coach of the Eastern Province Kings for the 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division. 24 June 2015: Fly-half Tony Jantjies' contract is terminated with immediate effect following a breach of team protocol. 21 July 2015: Former head coach and the current kicking and specialist skills coach, Carlos Spencer, leaves the EP Kings after being involved with the side since December 2013. 24 July 2015: Grey High School players Curwin Bosch (fly-half) and Khwezi Mafu (loose forward) are both named in the 2015 South African Schools squad to play internationals against Wales, France and England, while Grey lock Kamva Dilima is named in the South African Schools 'A' squad to play against Italy, England and Wales, alongside Hoërskool Framesby players André Lategan (hooker) and Riaan van Rensburg (fullback) and HTS Daniel Pienaar centre Heino Bezuidenhout. 17 August 2015: The Kings announced a three-year apparel sponsorship deal with BLK, starting in 2016. The deal would see BLK supply the kit for the Eastern Province Kings Currie Cup side, as well as the Southern Kings Super Rugby side.
Players
Player list
The following players were named in a pre-season training squad:
Props Tom Botha Charl du Plessis Lizo Gqoboka Simon Kerrod Charles Marais Enoch Mnyaka Brenden Olivier Vukile Sofisa CJ van der Linde
Hookers Albé de Swardt Martin Ferreira Edgar Marutlulle Michael van Vuuren
Locks David Bulbring Armand du Preez Tazz Fuzani Cameron Lindsay Shaun McDonald Darron Nell Kuhle Sonkosi Steven Sykes Jan Uys Loose forwards Tim Agaba Thembelani Bholi Eital Bredenkamp Aidon Davis Paul Schoeman Claude Tshidibi Luke Watson (c) Stefan Willemse Stephan Zaayman
Scrum-halves Enrico Acker Jaco Grobler Kevin Luiters
Fly-halves Tony Jantjies Gary van Aswegen George Whitehead Centres Michael Bernardt Ronnie Cooke Shane Gates Dwayne Jenner Andile Jho Marlou van Niekerk Tim Whitehead
Wingers Eben Barnard Siyanda Grey Sphu Msutwana
Fullbacks Hansie Graaff Siviwe Soyizwapi Scott van Breda
Vodacom Cup squad
The following players were included in their 2015 Vodacom Cup squad:
Props Tom Botha Charl du Plessis Lizo Gqoboka Simon Kerrod Charles Marais Enoch Mnyaka Vukile Sofisa CJ van der Linde
Hookers Albé de Swardt Martin Ferreira Edgar Marutlulle Michael van Vuuren
Locks David Bulbring Tazz Fuzani Cornell Hess Cameron Lindsay Shaun McDonald Jan Uys Loose forwards Tim Agaba Thembelani Bholi Eital Bredenkamp Aidon Davis Paul Schoeman CJ Velleman Luke Watson (c) Stefan Willemse
Scrum-halves Enrico Acker Dylon Frylinck Jaco Grobler Kevin Luiters
Fly-halves Tony Jantjies Gary van Aswegen George Whitehead Centres Ronnie Cooke Shane Gates Andile Jho Marlou van Niekerk Tim Whitehead
Wingers Siyanda Grey Sylvian Mahuza Sphu Msutwana Luther Obi
Fullbacks Hansie Graaff Malcolm Jaer Siviwe Soyizwapi Scott van Breda
Player movements
In
Position Player Name From Reference LK Tazz Fuzani LK Cornell Hess LK Jan Uys FL Eital Bredenkamp SH Dylon Frylinck FH Tony Jantjies WG Sylvian Mahuza WG Luther Obi
Out
Position Player Name To Reference Players that played in the 2014 Currie Cup PR Charl du Plessis Retired PR BG Uys LK Steve Cummins LK Darron Nell Not named (injured) LK Steven Sykes (loan) FL Devin Oosthuizen SH Tobie Botes Released FH Ntabeni Dukisa CE Dwayne Jenner Not named (injured) Players that played in the 2014 Vodacom Cup PR Brenden Olivier PR Pieter Stemmet HK Tabbie du Plessis Released HK Dane van der Westhuyzen LK Rynier Bernardo Ospreys LK Louis Fourie Released LK Brendan Hector Released LK Tyler Paul LK Kuhle Sonkosi Released FL Ivan-John du Preez FL Siphesihle Punguzwa FL Claude Tshidibi Released FL Stephan Zaayman SH Dwayne Kelly SH Kalvano King Despatch SH Sonwabo Majola SH Kayle van Zyl Mogliano FH Morné Hugo CE Michael Bernardt CE Selvyn Davids Despatch CE Tiger Mangweni Retired CE Luan Nieuwoudt WG Eben Barnard WG Ofentse Boloko Released WG Michael Killian Retired WG Lance Louw Released WG Sergeal Petersen WG Brian Skosana FB Masixole Banda FB Malcolm Jaer Players named in squads, but did not play HK Lumko Mbane Released LK Ben Jacobs Released LK Kevin Kaba SH Kevin Plaatjies Port Elizabeth Police FH MC Venter CE Foxy Ntleki Old Selbornians WG Aya Dlepu WG Paul Perez
Vodacom Cup
Log
Round-by-round
Team Progression – 2015 Vodacom Cup Southern Section Team R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 Opposition Cumulative Points 0 5 6 8 8 13 17 Southern Section Position 5th 6th 5th 5th 6th 5th 5th Key: win draw loss
Fixtures and results
Player statistics
The following table shows players statistics for the 2015 Vodacom Cup season:
Player Statistics – 2015 Vodacom CupPlayer Starts Used Sub Unused Sub Points Tries Cons Pens DGs YC RC Tom Botha 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lizo Gqoboka 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Simon Kerrod 4 1 0 10 2 0 0 0 0 0 Charles Marais 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Enoch Mnyaka 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 CJ van der Linde 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Martin Ferreira 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Edgar Marutlulle 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Michael van Vuuren 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 David Bulbring 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tazz Fuzani 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cornell Hess 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cameron Lindsay 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tim Agaba 5 0 0 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 Thembelani Bholi 6 0 0 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 Eital Bredenkamp 2 1 0 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 Aidon Davis 1 2 0 15 3 0 0 0 0 0 Paul Schoeman 5 0 0 20 4 0 0 0 0 0 Luke Watson 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Stefan Willemse 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Enrico Acker 0 1 0 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 Dylon Frylinck 0 3 0 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 Jaco Grobler 5 2 0 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 Kevin Luiters 2 1 0 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 Tony Jantjies 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Gary van Aswegen 3 0 0 10 0 2 2 0 0 0 George Whitehead 1 2 0 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 Ronnie Cooke 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Shane Gates 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Hansie Graaff 6 1 0 17 1 3 2 0 0 0 Siyanda Grey 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Andile Jho 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Marlou van Niekerk 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tim Whitehead 3 1 0 10 2 0 0 0 0 0 Sphu Msutwana 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Luther Obi 4 0 0 15 3 0 0 0 0 0 Siviwe Soyizwapi 7 0 0 10 2 0 0 0 0 0 Sylvian Mahuza 2 0 0 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 Scott van Breda 3 3 0 29 0 7 5 0 0 0
Albé de Swardt, Malcolm Jaer, Shaun McDonald, Vukile Sofisa, Jan Uys and CJ Velleman were named in the 2015 Vodacom Cup squad, but never included in a matchday 22.
Player appearances
The following players appeared for the Eastern Province Kings during the 2015 Vodacom Cup:
Player Appearances – 2015 Vodacom Cup Player Lizo Gqoboka 1 17 1 1 1 1 1 Martin Ferreira 2 2 2 Tom Botha 3 Tazz Fuzani 4 4 4 4 4 David Bulbring 5 18 5 5 18 18 Eital Bredenkamp 6 6 19 Thembelani Bholi 7 7 7 7 7 6 Tim Agaba 8 8 8 8 8 Kevin Luiters 9 9 20 Gary van Aswegen 10 10 10 Siyanda Grey 11 14 11 22 13 14 Shane Gates 12 12 12 Hansie Graaff 13 13 13 13 21 10 10 Siviwe Soyizwapi 14 11 14 14 14 15 15 Sylvian Mahuza 15 15 Michael van Vuuren 16 16 16 16 16 Charles Marais 17 1 3 Cameron Lindsay 18 5 5 18 4 Aidon Davis 19 18 8 Jaco Grobler 20 20 9 9 9 9 9 George Whitehead 21 21 10 Scott van Breda 22 15 22 15 15 22 Simon Kerrod 3 17 3 3 3 Paul Schoeman 6 6 6 6 8 Edgar Marutlulle 16 16 2 2 2 2 Cornell Hess 18 5 5 Stefan Willemse 19 19 19 7 4 7 Ronnie Cooke 22 22 13 12 13 Tim Whitehead 21 12 12 12 Luther Obi 11 11 11 11 Enoch Mnyaka 17 17 Dylon Frylinck 20 20 20 Tony Jantjies 21 10 CJ van der Linde 17 17 3 Luke Watson 19 19 Sphu Msutwana 14 21 Marlou van Niekerk 21 Andile Jho 22 Enrico Acker 20
Albé de Swardt, Malcolm Jaer, Shaun McDonald, Vukile Sofisa, Jan Uys and CJ Velleman were named in the 2015 Vodacom Cup squad, but never included in a matchday 22.
Currie Cup
Log
Round-by-round