Eastern Province Elephants
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| Full name | Eastern Province Elephants |
|---|---|
| Union | Eastern Province Rugby Union |
| Founded | 1888 |
| Region | Western half of the Eastern Cape, South Africa |
| Ground(s) | Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (Capacity: 48,000) |
| President | André Rademan |
| Director of Rugby | Vacant |
| Coach(es) | Ryan Felix |
| Captain(s) | Schalk Ferreira |
| League(s) | Currie Cup First Division |
| 2017 | 8th |
| Official website | |
| www |
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 Current season
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The Eastern Province Elephants are a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup and Rugby Challenge competitions. They are governed by the Eastern Province Rugby Union (EPRU or EP Rugby). The team represents the Western half of the Eastern Cape province, and they play their home games at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth.
In February 2018, the EPRU announced that the name of the team would revert to Eastern Province Elephants for the 2018 season.
The Eastern Province Rugby Football Union was founded in 1888. The very first President was Emelius M.I. Castens, Father to the very first Springbok cricket and rugby captain H.H. Castens. The team was originally a representative team, drawing players from within the provincial union area's local clubs. The clubs consisted of Albany, Berbok, Central Karoo, Crusaders, Despatch, Frontiam, Kwaru, Old-Collegians, Olympics, Parks, Patensie, PE Harlequins, Peru, Police, Rhodes, South-Eastern Districts, Swifts, UPE, Veru & Zwide. Many great players throughout the years dedicated their lives to this team, but only a select few got the chance to play for the Springboks.
The following EP Rugby Players represented the Springboks:
Bill Cunningham - Was not recognised as an official Springbok, but played for them against the Junior Springboks)
Presidents that served with the EPRU were: Boet Erasmus, Lawton Fourie, Chris Hattingh, Trevor Jennings and Koos Vermaak among others.
Eastern Province had the privilege of playing many first class matches against teams like:-
However, with the advent of professionalism in rugby union in 1995, the team contracted players from various areas. The Eastern Province Elephants is a professional team run by the EPRU, who are also responsible for junior representative rugby teams and administrative matters in the region.
Prior to 2010, they were known as the Mighty Elephants, but in order to align themselves with the Super Rugby side the Southern Kings, who were also governed by the EPRU, they changed their name to Eastern Province Kings. After the 2010 World Cup, they moved their offices to the new Port Elizabeth Stadium to establish their new headquarters. The team is the primary feeder to the Southern Kings, which also incorporates the Border Bulldogs and the SWD Eagles.
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