Kings to tap into Toulon's resources

NEWS: The Southern Kings and French club Toulon have agreed to a close working relationship between the two sides.

Southern Kings' Deputy Chairman Rory Stear and Chief Operations Officer Charl Crous travelled to France this week - where they met Toulon President Mourad Boudjellal.

The two groups concluded an agreement which will see an immediate close working relationship between the South African franchise and French club.

The ground-breaking partnership with a globally iconic club that has been crowned European champions three times, further illustrates the ambitious intent of the Southern Kings' new owners, the GRC, to turn the Port Elizabeth-based franchise into a force to be reckoned with globally.

Part of the memorandum of understanding between the two teams includes:

* Sharing of resources between the two sides,

* An exchange programme between the coaching staff of both teams,

* The sharing of player resources,

* Commercial opportunities,

* Youth development through both teams' rugby academies, and

* Fixtures between the two sides.

"This is an amazing opportunity for the Southern Kings to twin with a renowned club such as Toulon - an iconic club in the world," Southern Kings Deputy Chairman Rory Stear said.

"Toulon is a club that has had a good South African link with great Springboks like Bryan Habana, Bakkies Botha, Victor Matfield, Juandre Kruger, Jacques Potgieter and Marcel van der Merwe playing for them. They also had other world greats like Johnny Wilkinson and currently Julian Savea playing for them.

"This is an exciting partnership that will see us ensure that we are on track with our determination to make the Southern Kings a world force, just like Toulon.

"We are excited and looking forward to a long and fruitful relationship with Toulon."