At a South African Rugby Union (SARU) Special Council Meeting last week it was decided that the Kings would have a guaranteed spot in next season's event, with the identity of the four other South African franchises still to be decided.

Last year, the Kings took part in the Nations Cup in an effort to up their level and performed fairly well, beating Georgia, Romania and Portugal.

However, with Super Rugby looming, the Kings have decided to rather focus on playing relevant opposition, with two clashes with the Western Force rumoured to be scheduled for the middle of the year and a pre-season game with the Bulls slated for this weekend.

"It was a good event for us last year because we didn't play Super Rugby and we at least wanted to offer our players something," Kings boss Alan Solomons told Die Burger of the Nations Cup.

"Now that we'll be playing Super Rugby next year, we have decided to look at other options.

"The Nations Cup tournament last year took its toll.

"It is quite tough because you play against three national teams in a short period. We found some of our players were spiritless towards the end of the season."