Cape Town - The Eastern Province Elephants are finding the going tough in SA Rugby’s respective domestic competitions.
The Port Elizabeth-based union, which earlier this year reverted back to its traditional elephant logo, has struggled financially in recent times and it has reflected in their on-field performances.
The union has teams participating in the Currie Cup First Division, the SA Rugby Under-21 Championship and SA Rugby Under-19 Championship.
All three teams currently sit bottom of their respective logs - and are yet to win a single match among them!
The EP Elephants' Currie Cup First Division team have scored 81 points in their four matches to date, while conceding 172, giving them an average losing score of 43-20.
The under-21 side have struggled greatly, scoring a mere 27 points in four matches, and have conceded 437 - including centuries against the Golden Lions (120) and Blue Bulls (149) - for a 109-7 average losing score.
The under-19 team have conceded a whopping 708 points in 10 games, scoring 118 of their own for an average final score of 71-12.
Eastern Province results to date:
Currie Cup First Division
Boland 70-12 EP Elephants, August 25
EP Elephants 21-28 Leopards, September 8
Border Bulldogs 39-26 EP Elephants, September 14
EP Elephants 22-35 Griffons, September 22
SA Rugby Under-21 Championship
EP Elephants U21 0-120 Golden Lions U21, August 24
Sharks U21 99-7 EP Elephants U21, September 1
EP Elephants U21 7-69 Leopards U21, September 15
Blue Bulls 149-13 EP Elephants U21, September 19
SA Rugby Under-19 Championship
Golden Lions U19 104-12 EP Elephants U19, July 6
EP Elephants U19 0-52 Sharks U19, July 14
Leopards U19 54-12 EP Elephants U19, July 28
EP Elephants U19 10-69 Blue Bulls U19, August 4
WP U21 97-15 EP Elephants U19, August 10
EP Elephants U19 7-61 Free State U19, August 18
EP Elephants U19 5-66 Golden Lions, August 24
Sharks U19 134-7 EP Elephants U19, September 1
EP Elephants U19 19-38 Leopards, September 15
Blue Bulls U19 33-31 EP Elephants U19, September 19
- In the SuperSport Rugby Challenge earlier this year, EP won a solitary game and lost seven to finish bottom of the Southern Section.
- The franchise team, which participates in the PRO14, opted to keep its Southern Kings name.
Following the win over the All Blacks in Wellington, Springbok supporters will be counting down the days until the return fixture at Loftus on October 6. How do you see that match ending?
