Johannesburg - Next year’s Springbok Test against New Zealand will be held in Port Elizabeth, following a decision of the Executive Council of the South African Rugby Union.

The decision was taken as part of SARU’s commitment to bring top-flight rugby to the region. The award is conditional on agreement that all three unions in the Southern Kings region (Eastern Province, Border and South Western Districts) should benefit from the award and on agreement on an appropriate Test match hosting model.

It means Tri-Nations rugby will be played in the Eastern Cape region for the first time, while it would be the first visit of the All Blacks to the region for 41 years (since 1970).

“There is a hunger in the region for top flight rugby,” said Oregan Hoskins, the president of SARU.

“Port Elizabeth now has a top flight venue in the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium and SARU has a long-standing commitment to assist in bringing top flight-rugby back to the region. This is a tangible proof of our commitment.”

The 2011 Tri-Nations Test against Australia was allocated to the KwaZulu-Natal Rugby Union, subject to discussions with the union. 

The meeting also appointed East London businessman Monde Tabata to the Executive Council, joining Mike Stofile as the second independent member and filling a vacancy that had been open since the elections in March.

Other decisions taken by the council were:

•  The Exco will call for tenders from all 14 provincial unions to host the South African leg of the IRB World Sevens Series, according to the IRB’s criteria for host venues.
• Applications will be sought for the position of SA Under-20 coach and assistant coaches to cover the 2011, 2012 and 2013 IRB Junior World Championship competitions.
•  The CEOs of all 14 unions are to be called to a meeting for their inputs on: Vodacom Super Rugby franchise fees and the division of unions within franchises; the Test match hosting model.
•  The competitions committee was instructed to formulate a proposal to assist the Southern Kings in their preparations for potential Vodacom Super Rugby inclusion in 2013.
•  Approval was granted for an international sevens tournament, under the auspices of the Leopards Rugby Union, to be held in Rustenburg from September 24-26, 2010.