Sport

Brave new rugby era or continuing decline?

Van Rooyen opts for wholesale restructuring

February 05, 2004 Edition -1

Mike Bersiks and Gary Boruchowitz

South African rugby boss Brian van Rooyen has gone back to the future.

At a press conference yesterday, SA Rugby Football Union (Sarfu) president Van Rooyen made a number of contradictory statements at the Eldoronians Rugby Club regarding the future of the South African game as outlined at a "bosberaad of key rugby stakeholders" held last week in Kempton Park.

Van Rooyen spoke of changes in both the Currie Cup and

Super 12 competitions, which would take effect from the 2005 season. In the former a decision has been made to revert to a 14 province Currie Cup competition which Van Rooyen said would still operate on a "strength v strength" basis.

Quite how this is to be structured is yet to be decided, but Van Rooyen alluded to the smaller unions once again entertaining the larger teams - both for financial benefits and to expose their players to a higher level of competition.

The present Currie Cup structure is hugely unpopular among the "platteland" unions, and the change back mooted by Van Rooyen can be seen as payback to them for the support they gave him in the recent presidential election.

Whether this will in fact lead to an improved standard of rugby when one thinks of scorelines like the 104-14 defeat that the SWD Eagles endured at the hands of the Lions last season is debatable.

And quite where the smaller unions will find the money to contract enough players to become competitive is another question. Will Sarfu foot the bill, or, as was mooted yesterday, will the four metropolitan unions (Golden Lions, Blue Bulls, Natal Sharks and Western Province) be forced to draft or loan certain players to the smaller centres?

If this happens, again this leads to the point of who would be paying those players' salaries while they turn out for the Griffons, Leopards and the likes?

Van Rooyen has at least realised that the big city unions are his domestic revenue makers as he stated that the "Super 12 rugby competition will in future be hosted by the four metropolitan unions". This is a moot point as these unions have already taken the Super 12 to their stadiums exclusively.

One of Sarfu's tenets as stated by Van Rooyen yesterday is to "grow the game", but they have seemingly bowed to financial reality in this decision.

The current regional franchises will fall away, reverting to provincial representation from 2005.

Players from smaller unions, which now it seems includes Free State, would be placed into the four Super 12 sides on Sarfu's request so as not to neglect those talented players who do not play for one of the "big four".

An alternative for them is a shadowy "further international provincial competition", the details of which also remain shrouded in mystery, but which might include teams from South America, Africa and the Pacific.

The thorny subject of transformation was another on the agenda.

A transformation committee is to be established to monitor the progress of black players, coaches, administrators and referees at all levels.

Sarfu will set targets to attain for black players to be represented in national teams.

It seems that Van Rooyen has decided to clip the wings of SA Rugby (Pty) Ltd's influence over South African rugby as a large part of his statement yesterday reaffirmed Sarfu's control to select the coaches, managers and personnel in all national teams and to determine the nature of all local rugby competitions.

Perhaps this is a manoeuvre to avoid a situation as seen in the past, where the MD of SA Rugby, Rian Oberholzer, was seen as substantially more influential in this country's game than former Sarfu president Silas Nkanunu.