New leadership has been voted in at EP Rugby after a fiery meeting on Tuesday when Gerald Antonie was elected to replace George Malgas as president of the troubled union.
A concerted move by 10 executive members to overthrow Malgas proved to be successful after neither side was willing to budge over the interpretation of EP’s constitution regarding a presidential vacancy.
An insider said: “Apart from appointing Antonie (EP High Schools), it was decided Roger Serfontein (Kouga sub-union) would fill the position of deputy president and Benjamin Bans (Sundays River Valley sub-union) would be acting head of game development.
“These vacancies were only filled to lead the union to elections as prescribed in clause 16.4 up until a special general meeting is called.”
After a frustratingly long delay, SA Rugby visited Gqeberha on Tuesday to intervene in a debilitating power struggle among feuding executive members.
Saru’s deputy president Francois Davids and legal and compliance head Chantal du Pisani travelled to Gqeberha to mediate in the long-running feud.
After a vote among the executive members on Tuesday, Antonie was elected to replace Malgas.
Malgas stepped into the position after the previous president, Maasdorp Cannon, was suspended for two years for breaching SA Rugby’s Saru constitution and its code of conduct.
Fed up EPRU executive members, who described themselves as outcasts, urged SA Rugby to settle the dispute.
It was the interpretation of EP’s constitution regarding a presidential vacancy that was the root cause of deep divisions among executive members.
A frustrating impasse over the validity of Malgas’s position as acting EP Rugby Union president resulted in tensions running high at the union.
The 10 executive members who had been seeking change were Serfontein (Kouga), Vuyani Persent (Kou-Kamma), Simon Bernadus (Karoo), Bans (Sundays River Valley), Walton de Beer (Midlands), Deon Hilpert (Sedru), Antonie (high schools), Tony de Laura (primary schools), Peter Tee (Kariega) and Phillip Bosch (referees).
Earlier, Malgas said a frustrating impasse over the validity of his position as acting president had damaged the union’s brand.
It is believed the power struggle within the ranks of EP Rugby’s executive negatively affected Gqeberha’s chances of staging a Test between the Springboks and Portugal at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
SA Rugby announced in January that Bloemfontein had been confirmed as the host for the historic first Test between the nations in 2024.
In a leaked memo, Malgas informed his executive he wanted clarity on his position and asked top SA Rugby officials to attend an intervention meeting in Gqeberha
Asked for comment, an SA Rugby spokesperson said: “It’s an EP matter so not ours to comment on at all.”
HeraldLIVE
New leadership voted in at EP Rugby
Image: SUPPLIED
New leadership has been voted in at EP Rugby after a fiery meeting on Tuesday when Gerald Antonie was elected to replace George Malgas as president of the troubled union.
A concerted move by 10 executive members to overthrow Malgas proved to be successful after neither side was willing to budge over the interpretation of EP’s constitution regarding a presidential vacancy.
An insider said: “Apart from appointing Antonie (EP High Schools), it was decided Roger Serfontein (Kouga sub-union) would fill the position of deputy president and Benjamin Bans (Sundays River Valley sub-union) would be acting head of game development.
“These vacancies were only filled to lead the union to elections as prescribed in clause 16.4 up until a special general meeting is called.”
After a frustratingly long delay, SA Rugby visited Gqeberha on Tuesday to intervene in a debilitating power struggle among feuding executive members.
Saru’s deputy president Francois Davids and legal and compliance head Chantal du Pisani travelled to Gqeberha to mediate in the long-running feud.
After a vote among the executive members on Tuesday, Antonie was elected to replace Malgas.
Malgas stepped into the position after the previous president, Maasdorp Cannon, was suspended for two years for breaching SA Rugby’s Saru constitution and its code of conduct.
Fed up EPRU executive members, who described themselves as outcasts, urged SA Rugby to settle the dispute.
It was the interpretation of EP’s constitution regarding a presidential vacancy that was the root cause of deep divisions among executive members.
A frustrating impasse over the validity of Malgas’s position as acting EP Rugby Union president resulted in tensions running high at the union.
The 10 executive members who had been seeking change were Serfontein (Kouga), Vuyani Persent (Kou-Kamma), Simon Bernadus (Karoo), Bans (Sundays River Valley), Walton de Beer (Midlands), Deon Hilpert (Sedru), Antonie (high schools), Tony de Laura (primary schools), Peter Tee (Kariega) and Phillip Bosch (referees).
Earlier, Malgas said a frustrating impasse over the validity of his position as acting president had damaged the union’s brand.
It is believed the power struggle within the ranks of EP Rugby’s executive negatively affected Gqeberha’s chances of staging a Test between the Springboks and Portugal at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
SA Rugby announced in January that Bloemfontein had been confirmed as the host for the historic first Test between the nations in 2024.
In a leaked memo, Malgas informed his executive he wanted clarity on his position and asked top SA Rugby officials to attend an intervention meeting in Gqeberha
Asked for comment, an SA Rugby spokesperson said: “It’s an EP matter so not ours to comment on at all.”
HeraldLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Latest Videos
Most Read
Sport
Rugby
Sport
Sport
Sport