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Cape Town - The Eastern Province Kings will get their wish to play in next year's Currie Cup granted, with the competition set to be expanded to eight teams.
According to the Beeld website, the presidents of the country's 14 provincial unions have already voted in favour of expanding the competition to eight teams from next year, with SARU set to make an official announcement later on Thursday.
The Kings and the Pumas are believed to be the two teams that will be added to the current six-team competition.
The Pumas have already made sure they'll finish top of this year's Currie Cup First Division log, while the Kings - who are currently in second spot - will be added to the Premier Division irrespective of where they finish.
The Kings were demoted from Super Rugby when they lost a promotion-relegation series to the Lions early last month, and their automatic inclusion in the Currie Cup would thus be a decision made on political grounds.
Due to their relegation from Super Rugby, the Kings are reportedly also bargaining for a permanent spot in the Currie Cup, which would not go down well with other unions.
Smaller unions in the First Division would find it extremely tough to gain promotion to the top tier, while some of the bigger unions could face the risk of playing promotion-relegation games even if they finish ahead of the Kings.
According to the Beeld website, the presidents of the country's 14 provincial unions have already voted in favour of expanding the competition to eight teams from next year, with SARU set to make an official announcement later on Thursday.
The Kings and the Pumas are believed to be the two teams that will be added to the current six-team competition.
The Pumas have already made sure they'll finish top of this year's Currie Cup First Division log, while the Kings - who are currently in second spot - will be added to the Premier Division irrespective of where they finish.
The Kings were demoted from Super Rugby when they lost a promotion-relegation series to the Lions early last month, and their automatic inclusion in the Currie Cup would thus be a decision made on political grounds.
Due to their relegation from Super Rugby, the Kings are reportedly also bargaining for a permanent spot in the Currie Cup, which would not go down well with other unions.
Smaller unions in the First Division would find it extremely tough to gain promotion to the top tier, while some of the bigger unions could face the risk of playing promotion-relegation games even if they finish ahead of the Kings.
