The format of the Currie Cup has been thrown into chaos after it emerged on Wednesday that at least one union voted against promoting the Leopards to the premier division and axing the EP Kings from the competition. EP rugby faces a liquidation hearing in the Port Elizabeth High Court on Thursday and as a result of its bankrupt state‚ SA Rugby asked its members to vote on excluding EP and allowing the Leopards to take their place in the Currie Cup premier division.The Leopards finished fourth in the recent Currie Cup qualifying tournament. The three automatic places to the premier division fell to Boland‚ Griquas and the Pumas.But the Griffons‚ who finished fifth in qualifying‚ opposed the idea of axing EP in favour of the Leopards.“We agreed with the call to relegate the EP Kings to the first division‚” Griffons representative Jan Marais told TMG.“But SA Rugby slipped in another proposal to promote the Leopards who finished fourth.“We opposed it because this situation is about EP‚ it’s not about the Leopards. We made that very clear in a letter to SA Rugby.“We cannot agree with the Leopards being promoted because we all knew what the rules of the qualifying competition were before it started – and that was the top three outside the Super Rugby franchises would be promoted to the premier division.“The Leopards were not one of the top three. They did not fulfil the requirements stipulated in the qualifying competition rules.“Up until the last round we (the Griffons) were fourth on the log‚ but we didn’t really care about our final match because we couldn’t finish in the top three.“The Leopards moved ahead of us on the standings on the last day because they played a second string Griquas team‚ who were already sure of one of the top three places. They ended one point ahead of us on the log in the end because of that.“But earlier in the competition we beat the Leopards by 50 points [the Griffons won 76-26]. You can’t change the requirements to be in the premier division after the fact.”SA Rugby confirmed that the proposal they sent out had not been unanimously agreed‚ which was a requirement.“We will make an announcement on Thursday and discussions are ongoing‚” a spokesman for SA Rugby said.There are only two days to the start of the competition‚ which kicks-off on Friday and as it stands now Griquas‚ who were supposed to play EP in the first round‚ do not know who they will face. They might end up without an opponent because it’s unclear whether EP can even field a team. It’s understood that SA Rugby might try to find a way to fund EP and keep them in the premier division after the Griffons’ stance‚ but there is no clarity on that at this stage.- TMG Digital..