A Fan’s (Half) Blueprint for SA Rugby

Posted by Morné - 09/04/06 at 04:04 pm under General Discussions

The time has come to decide whether we are going to make rugby professional or not.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a piece on professionalism in rugby. I basically defended the players and coaches to such an extent that I asked supporters to look at themselves before we start demanding for coaches and players’ heads.

In essence, I said the fans don’t understand professionalism so it is unfair from us to demand our players and coaches to be professional.

Well it is amazing what a couple of weeks of Super rugby performances can do to a person – and if Nick Mallet can have a blueprint for rugby why not me?

How I see SA Rugby now

I have never worked in rugby administration to such a level where I can tell anyone exactly how the structures work, but I believe I have a pretty decent idea.

Currently we have a national sporting body in SARU which in all essence, run rugby in South Africa. SARU obviously has to conform to certain aspects set out by government and the sports body within government controlled by the minister of sport.

SARU also has to adhere to regulations as stipulated by the international governing body the IRB, and for the Super competitions and Tri-nations body SANZAR. A better description can be that SARU is in fact a ‘member’ of these bodies and to continue being a member they must adhere to membership rules and regulations.

In turn, clubs, provinces and unions/franchises, are in a similar position where if they want to belong to the club (SARU), they must adhere to certain policies.

In the same breath, SARU gives these members certain benefits (monetary support, games/tests, etc) as the IRB and SANZAR does to SARU.

It is a really simple model in my view and one that should or could work very well. That is of course if the bodies are governed correctly.

A lot has been said about the decision to award New Zealand the World Cup recently. Nothing against New Zealand, they were my personal choice too, but the fact that the ‘Old Boy’s Club’ exists within world rugby and the IRB was again evident.

This article is not about the IRB but our very own SARU, the only reason I mentioned this is very simply because I believe the very same thing exists within SA Rugby – an Old Boy’s Club.

In my view, SARU has absolute control over any and all rugby matters within South Africa. This in itself is not really what I have a problem with, hell they can have all the power they want, it is how they use it I have a problem with.

This scenario is also indicative of an amateurish setup. It worked well when rugby was still an amateur sport, but it has been found wanting in the professional era for one simple reason, the setup or structures currently is anything but professional.

Comparisons between SARU and unions have often been made in the recent past, and rightly so. We are told that rugby is professional, and whenever certain decisions are made we are told that it is the reality of professionalism and we should accept it.

Fair enough, but then when we ask questions regarding the professional setup within rugby we are either given contradictory versions of events or no comment whatsoever.

It is obvious (to me in anyhow), that SARU is enjoying this ‘hold’ on rugby in our country and they don’t want to let go.

It is also obvious that there are a lot of role players involved in the decision making of anything rugby related, of whom we are also not aware off.

It is extremely obvious that there is a lot of ‘associations’ within our rugby circles, which include media, private stakeholders, sponsors, etc. whom we are not aware off if we look at how the media is used to release statements and the timing and content of those statements.

All of this of course means that statements, reasoning and viewpoints are poisoned with half-truths and BS to protect ‘interests’.

A simple example of this is to highlight a comment a reader made last week regarding the local rugby show Boots & All on Supersport. He asked why is it that so much time is spent on discussing the Sharks and Cheetahs on the show and by the time they have almost ran out of time they quickly discuss the Stormers in the last 5 minutes.

A fair question I thought, and no I don’t watch Boots & All so I have no opinion on this personally. Another reader answered him that he should simply have a look at who sponsors those two teams to find the answer.

Hmmmm, interesting I thought. I also then went back to the Currie Cup schedule of last year and looked at what games were shown on TV and to my surprise, I found a Griquas (who has a Supersport logo on their jersey) game enjoyed more airtime than some of our traditional Big 5 unions.

I am not one for conspiracy theories but this more or less explains my believe that decisions are made with a lot of ‘interests’ out there who might not have anything to do with the running of our game on a day to day basis, yet they enjoy an enormous amount of power in the decision making.

Also, I am not accusing Supersport of anything sinister, hell I believe as a company or sponsor they are allowed to punt their interests as much as they can, they are paying for it, but it sort of makes you think of who else might be involved in certain decisions in our rugby we are not aware of, and what power they have.

So what options do we have to improve the game, administration and structures within South African rugby? Appoint judge King to investigate rugby from top to bottom? Please no, I have been embarrassed enough as a supporter already.

Here is a suggestion, why don’t we just simply govern rugby like one would govern any modern day business?

My ‘Half’-Blueprint

The logic I applied was very simple. I am well aware that there are pro’s and con’s to my suggestion, but frankly, I am sick and tired of being lied to, being embarrassed every Saturday as a supporter, and seeing young stars leave our shores to apply their trade in other countries.

It has been reported last week that some unions earn in excess of R50-million in turnover just through the Super competition. This does not include tests and local competitions like the Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup.

Now to me that is a lot of money. Any business would love to show figures like that.

It also then begs the question, what is happening to all this money? Why, if this is the type of money going into these organizations bank accounts, is our rugby (the product of these organizations) in such a poor state?

Are these organization really run as any other business, or are my theories as I mentioned above with regards to certain ‘interests’ and ‘Old boy’s Clubs’ not wanting to lose their stranglehold on rugby in South Africa true?

If this was an Enron, or any other major company or organization I would not actually care, but since we, the fans, are the major stakeholders of these organizations and the ones that invests the most into the game, it is my right to question is it not?

See for those who do not believe all the money in circulation in SA Rugby or rugby worldwide comes from me and you let me simplify it for you.

Some of the most major monetary investors that signs deals with the likes of SARU and unions do so with the hope it will attract more consumers to their own products. Whether it is television subscriptions or singing a new mobile phone contract or even changing to a new favourite beer.

The consumers of course, are guys like you and me. This is not a marketing lesson though so I will leave it at that.

So how do we get to see the best of the best and truly make rugby professional? Like I mentioned earlier, let’s run it as such.

I do believe organizations like SARU and the IRB are necessary, but their powers need to be cut down.

So here it is, my half-blueprint on how rugby in South Africa must change.

The Unions

Talks of breakaways from national or international sporting bodies are nothing new. It has been mentioned in Tennis, F1, hell it was even in the news in our very own country about 2 years ago when guys were talking about breaking away from SARU!

This however, is not the way to go.

I believe the unions need to be given the opportunity to privatize, similar to what we see in English Soccer.

An investor, group of investors or companies, should be allowed to ‘buy’ clubs or unions.

This to me should be a simple process. Any club/union can be audited to ascertain their value as a company. This includes a big union like WP or the Bulls, but also a small union like the Pumas.

The stadium, the staff, the players, etc. are all assets to the company and will contribute to the estimated value of the organization.

Investors then has the opportunity to investigate possibilities of buying out these companies with a view on current value and the possibility to grow the business’ value in 2 or 5 years time.

The buy-out must be subject to certain regulations i.e. securing jobs for current administrators and player’s futures. SARU, being the national governing body, will also enjoy some rights as being part and parcel of the buy-out and the organization they have to buy it out from, but this I will highlight later.

This will mean that each union or franchise will operate as an individual company or organization and will be subject to delivering a ‘product’ (rugby), which will either ensure their continued existence or failure.

More importantly, the investors, having an active interest in the company will now have to employ skilled individuals to ensure growth and success. This will mean that if the coach, or certain players don’t deliver a product, they will fail as a business. Success will be rewarded but failure won’t be tolerated.

The success or fields these ‘businesses’ now operate in will add to their value. For instance, the Big 5 are obviously the strongest entities in our country at the moment, therefore they will compete in the SARU controlled competition the Currie Cup, our premier local competition. In reward for reaching this level SARU will pay each business a retainer for competing in the competition on a yearly basis.

SARU can also decide to promote the top smaller unions, lets say three, into this competition thus ensuring interest by smaller unions and something to aspire too which can also include a promotion/relegation system every year.

SARU in turn, will be entitled to benefits such as a percentage in gate fees at every game. They will also control all sponsorship, apart from the team’s own sponsor which will be displayed on their gear and maybe a stadium name, like Coca Cola, Castle, Bankfin, or whoever that will be known as the official sponsor for the competition. Sort of like a World Cup event or yet again, what we see in English Premiership.

The unions themselves will generate an income from their retainer, and this will be directly related to which competition they compete in, as well as gate fees and sponsors they manage to sign, who will of course will increase depending on how successful they are as an organization.

To further help development of talent throughout all regions and unions, SARU, being the governing body need to enforce salary caps to which all ‘members’ have to adhere to.

This will mean that a Luke Watson, who might have family and friends in George, can decide to play for SWD rather than WP with the latter union not killing the game for a smaller union by offering Watson an exorbitant amount of money to which SWD cannot compete to.

This will of course depend on where the union/organization find themselves in, Watson for instance might not want to join a company where his interests are not served, i.e. bringing in contention for Springbok selection. Thus the onus will be on each union, or organization, to ensure they do well as a business to attract these types of players.

In my mind, SARU can easily achieve this by putting players in three categories depending on their experience, talent, etc. You will have an A, B and C level player who’s salary may not exceed ‘X’ amount. Every year SARU reviews the list of players and either promotes or relegates players.

This of course means that if a Jean de Villiers loses form, he loses his status as an ‘A’ level player to a ‘B’ level player, the wake up call I believe is necessary for some.

In turn this means a union like SWD, if they do well and find themselves in the Currie Cup, might field 4 or 5 seasoned individuals with their bunch of youngsters who will of course benefit greatly form these players. A real distribution of talent and true development.

The bigger unions like WP will also be encouraged to maybe buy players like Spencer who are past their international careers for their country, to develop their ‘C’ category flyhalfs into great players.

Obviously they will benefit greatly from an investment point of view if their ‘C’ class player which for arguments sake cost them only R 20,000.00, is suddenly promoted to an ‘A’ class player because Jake White picked him for the end-of-year tour, and suddenly he is worth R 100,000.00. So if any other unions want to buy him they would have made R 80,000.00 in a year.

Springboks & Super Rugby

In the event of Super rugby competitions and if a player is called up for the Bok-squad, the solution is also very simple.

The franchises in Super rugby will operate as complete different entities than the unions. Under the same principles as stated above SARU appoints coaches for each franchise they have ‘registered’ with SANZAR.

If a franchise like the Stormers for instance qualifies to participate in the Super X competition, SARU has to employ the coach and players for the duration of the competition. If they require a stadium like Newlands, they would also need to pay the union, WP, a retainer for the season for the use of the stadium. This is not difficult to organize as the union can either accept one lump sum or they could agree to share gate fees or whatever.

The franchises, which are solely controlled by SARU, then buys players out of their union contracts for the duration of the competition. This simply means, SARU, being the governing body, has any and all rights over players playing for their member unions first. They have to however, pay that player’s salary for the duration they use him for, this could include a percentage-based retainer to the union.

The benefits? Well if SARU decides to pick Victor Matfield for their Bulls team, they would have to pay him the R 100,000.00 per month his union did. The union in turn, can now pick or play a Van Schouwenburg who only costs them R 50,000.00.

Number one they show an additional profit of R 50,000.00 for 4 months (great for any business and also a great motivating factor for any union to develop players to such a level that if and when SARU needs them they cash in big time – this will keep any boss/investor happy) plus they get to develop another player in a competition like the Vodacom Cup in order to move him up the category rankings.

They might also decide to use the profit to import a coach or someone like Martin Johnson for 4 months to play/coach for their team giving their players invaluable knowledge and experience.

SARU themselves have to now choose the best 4 or 5 franchises to compete in the Super X competition. They are paying for the players and coaches and failures will result in huge losses for the organization.

The same principle applies for Springbok rugby.

Jake White with all his advisors and selectors under SARU’s employ has to identify ‘X’ amount of players he will need for his internationals. He and his board has to motivate to SARU who he wants to be successful and then SARU pays for these players for the duration coach White needs them in the same way I explained above.

SARU yet again will show a profit if the team is of course successful and also by awarding tests to certain unions/stadiums of which they will take a cut or insist on a lump sum. They would also control all the sponsors as explained earlier for these tests which should ensure they make enough money to pay the coach and players and maybe even show a profit if the team wins which will no doubt make the sponsors happy and ensure massive attendance at these events!

Government Intervention

This is part and parcel of South Africa and South African rugby. But to me this is not a hurdle – in fact it could even be used as an incentive for unions!

Like we know any company in South Africa has to conform to certain ‘Affirmative Action’ or ‘Black Economic Empowerment’ regulations, this should be no different.

If these organizations are going to be run as fully-fledged companies they should conform to the same regulations, but because they are a business as any other, government cannot ‘force’ them to do more than what is expected. The owners or investors of the ‘company’ can simply give them the finger.

A way unions can be encouraged to promote number representation would be to automatically class the so-called quota players as level ‘B’ players.

This means if any union manages to un-earth local talent in the previously disadvantaged communities and they are really talented, they are definitely set to make a hell of a lot of money should this player be approached by any other union or pulled up into a Super team or the Springboks.

Maybe I should make that a bit clearer. Let’s say the Bulls decide to employ Dlulane for whom they put on a ‘C’ level contract because they found him. The Bull’s only pay Dlulane R 20,000.00 a month, but if any other union or SARU wants to buy him they have to pay up the ‘B’ level amount, which is R 50,000.00.

How are other unions or Jake White going to become truly interested in a Dlulane? Simple really, he has to get regular game time to show he is good enough.

This to me is positive development and great encouragement to unions to really go out to un-earth these types of players because yet again, at the end of the day they will show massive profits which will keep stakeholders and investors extremely happy.

Just apply that to a small union for instance. Let’s take Bevan Fortuin for instance. He learned his trade in SWD, so SWD pays him the ‘C’ level salary and if the Cheetahs buy him, they need to pay SWD R 50,000.00. Enough money to maybe develop two more players like Fortuin or get a seasoned veteran to help them improve their current status.

In the event (which with Jake White’s talent spotting is very likely) that a Fortuin, Dlulane, Nokwe or similar players are suddenly included in a Bok-setup the coach or SARU obviously has to pay the union the ‘next level’ fee. If this player, like a Habana is suddenly classed as an ‘A’ level player after the yearly reviews, SARU can allow a special top-up cap system to be introduced to ensure smaller unions don’t lose these players to bigger, richer unions. With this I mean that these players are then only available to other, bigger unions if they pay the original, or smaller union, a transfer fee over and above the normal player salary.

Or they can simply increase the percentage (transfer fee) a union has to pay the original union if they decide to buy the player. For instance, lets say Habana is now, after one year suddenly an ‘A’ level player who earns R 120,000.00 a month, if he was not a black player a union wanting to buy him would simply need to pay him the exact same salary but also pay the union they are buying him from a certain percentage transfer fee, lets say 20% of his annual income.

Thus, Habana in any normal circumstance would earn R 120,000.00 no matter if he moves or not. The union that discovered him will earn 20% of R 120,000.00 (R 24,000.00) as a transfer fee if they, and the player agree to the transfer plus they will potentially save R 100,000.00 for having him (Habana) of their books by employing a ‘C’ level player in his place. Good business, good money.

Now because Habana is classed as a ‘development’ player according to our government, this transfer percentage can be increased to 35% or even 40%. This to me will ensure local talent not to be raped by the so-called bigger unions but also allow for great reward to unions that actively search and invest in talent from the previously disadvantaged community.

Realistically this will only work is a player in on a year-to-year contract which in my mind is also not a bad thing.

Conclusion

Unfortunately my half ‘blueprint’ is an area I am sure we can continue to have a lot of debate on regarding the pro’s and con’s and it is impossible for me to mention everything I would like to in one article. Also, unfortunately I am ‘capped’ on the length of my posts and I am sure you are tired from reading all this in any event.

Like anything in life, this type of system or idea is not fool-proof, but at least in my view rugby can finally be classed as a professional sport if we follow a system similar to any ‘real’ business in South Africa.

This leaves me with one question. Are South Africa, the players, the coaches, the administration but more importantly, the fans ready for professionalism?