Another Cheeky bombshell in PE

Cape Town - Cheeky Watson has once again lived to fight another day as president of the Eastern Province Rugby Union (EPRU).

A proposed special general meeting, where certain club delegates were expected to again push for a vote of no confidence in Watson, will not go ahead as planned.

According to the HeraldLIVE website, the meeting had been expected to take place in Port Elizabeth on Saturday, but it was cancelled by SA Rugby on Thursday.

SA Rugby would not elaborate as to why the meeting was cancelled, but it is believed that all the constitutional requirements for the submission of a resolution had not been met.

EP Rugby has been beset by a financial crisis for the past year, with SA Rugby recently taking full administrative control of the union, and also appointing independent executive committee member Monde Tabata as an administrator.

The decision to cancel the meeting was met with anger by Rugby Transformation Coalition spokesperson Bantwini Matika, who claimed that SA Rugby was being bullied by Watson.

“I smell a rat here,” Bantwini said.

“We will take things out of SA Rugby’s hands now because they seem to be afraid of Cheeky.

“We will consult legal brains and see how we can get out of this impasse.”

Under Watson as president, the EP Rugby Union plunged into a financial crisis last year, with the union unable to pay players’ salaries.

Watson had promised a R200m sponsorship for the Kings but this failed to materialise, with players forced to accept food vouchers following the non-payment of salaries.

It also led to SARU stepping in to take control of the union’s Super Rugby franchise, the Southern Kings.