Saru’s Super Rugby solution not set in stone
23 Aug 2012
GARETH DUNCAN says while most of South Africa bemoaned Saru’s decision-making in accommodating the Southern Kings next season, many missed the fine print.
On Thursday last week, Saru announced that the Lions would be relegated from the South African Super Rugby conference in order to make way for the Kings. This was the decision voted by majority of the 14 unions at the annual general meeting, after no other suitable solution could be drawn up after months and months of negotiations and emergency meetings.
Saru also announced its promotion-relegation initiative, which will allow the Lions to compete for a Super Rugby place in 2014 as they’ll face next year’s last placed South African franchise in a play-off.
Many pundits see this as a lose-lose situation. And they are right.
Let’s look at the Kings.
It’s ridiculous to expect them to escape the wooden spoon in their debut season (well, at least in the South African conference which was the strongest group in this year’s competition). Super Rugby trends have proven that the newbies don’t do well during their early years. The Melbourne Rebels and Western Force finished last in their debut campaigns and still feature in the bottom half of the table every season, despite the odd upset victory. The Lions and Cheetahs haven’t fared much better since splitting from the Cats initiative in 2006.
The Kings will also struggle to recruit the necessary player base to be competitive at Super Rugby level. High-profile names will be hesitant to sign a one-year contract as the Eastern Cape franchise can’t guarantee tournament participation in 2014.
Saru’s answer to the media’s question of the Kings not being given enough time to carry out the necessary plans to ensure they will be competitive in 2013 was that the confirmation on their exclusion was made ‘several months ago’.
If this is so, the national administrators handled the situation poorly.
There were several stories that speculated the Kings were going to be dropped at the last minute. This including the report from the Weekend Argus in July that Saru offered the Eastern Cape franchise R40 million to stall their Super Rugby ambitions until 2016. If this was false, why didn’t Saru come out publicly and denounce these rumours?
This did the Kings no favours.
Kings boss Cheeky Watson has complained that they’re not happy with being given only one season to prove themselves. But Saru CEO Jurie Roux has revealed a way for them to extend their stay.
While most of the media focused on lamenting Saru’s decision, Roux confirmed that if the Kings received the majority vote to have an extended stay in Super Rugby at the next annual general meeting, and if this was passed by Saru’s executive council, then it would be granted.
Roux did, however, add that this is unlikely.
When it comes to the Lions, they’re in a very tricky situation.
While they’re in the Super Rugby wilderness, they’re also in trouble financially as reported on keo.co.za on Wednesday.
Saru confirmed that they are in negotiations with powers up north to see if the Lions could compete in any European competitions in 2013, but this is unlikely to happen as the European season starts in a couple of weeks.
However, Roux revealed a way for the Lions to feature in Super Rugby next season. He said the South African franchises are ‘businesses’ and they are allowed to run their ‘businesses’ as they’re pleased. So if the Lions were to amalgamate with another South African franchise, this would be allowed.
The only issue is, who would want to merge with a franchise in financial turmoil? The Lions have shot themselves in the foot (maybe even the chest) in the way they’ve run their business.
Saru’s Super Rugby solution is not set in stone. The Lions and Kings are likely to appeal its current terms, but the national union is unlikely to budge. If possible, the franchises should look at the fine print to solve their woes, more so the Kings.
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623 Comments
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23 Aug 2012, 11:01 am
really, kevin is moaning and b i t ching but the reality is that his team have been utter s h it for ten years.
ffs, the lions fans will probably enjoy next years s15 much more as they cant lose.
disclaimer: i feel for lions fans but i feel fokkol for the lions management, hope they all lose their salaries.
23 Aug 2012, 11:03 am
@MacToogie-100: bru, he presided over two awful years where the lions finished bottom end of the table.
not exactly sir alan sugar is he?
23 Aug 2012, 11:03 am
Lost your reply Tac but here goes.
It is becoming increasingly clear that the region (Gauteng) is having trouble sustaining 2 professional rugby franchises. Why split the cake if you can have the whole one?
Since the Bulls are by far the strongest franchise at the moment, can the Lions franchise, just have the Bulls in Gauteng.
Bulls will now have ‘access’ to Lions resources from schools rugby, to club rugby, to age group rugby right through to their professional Currie Cup team.
In fact, the Bulls like the Cheetahs (Super Rugby franchise) will have two representative union teams playing in the Currie Cup premier division!
Lions can sell EPS, flush all the money into their provincial CC setup, make FNB their home ground and we have one Gauteng rugby franchise!!!
Awesome!
23 Aug 2012, 11:04 am
@MacToogie-100:
true to an extent but also true that he could have done a whole lot better himself.
shoulda sorted the franchise partners out.
shoulda tried to make the gumede deal work.
shoulda cut the dead wood sooner.
shoulda woulda coulda…
23 Aug 2012, 11:05 am
@rangerman-102: yeah i get what you saying but by then the financial dwang was well and truly on the wall, but i hear you
23 Aug 2012, 11:05 am
Those ‘hating’, ‘bashing’ and ‘whinging’ about the Kings inclusion and Lions exclusion, need to take a long, hard look at themselves in the mirror. What they might see is a hypocrite staring back at them…..
Anyone who moans, whinges and wails about an incompetent, corrupt and woefully ill equipped ANC led government, always ends their whinge by saying, “why don’t voters get rid of them or vote them out of power….OR: why aren’t the corrupt and useless within the ANC fired OR: why isn’t another govt (political party) given a chance to do better…etc etc etc”.
The same standards you set for morality in politics, should be set for rugby. If the Lions were a political party would you be defending them and all their ‘totallyfuckeduptendenciesandcockups’? Or would you be hoping someone else gets a chance to do better?
I can’t believe some of you honestly want to fight in the Lions corner. Says a lot actually.
The Kings may not be squeaky clean, but unlike the Lions, they don’t need a fuckingindustrialcleaner to wash them down.
23 Aug 2012, 11:06 am
@Horings-84: shampies
how is this different to pdv being blamed for the departure of gary botha, joe pietersen. schalk britz, ruan pienaar, heinke etc?
23 Aug 2012, 11:06 am
@77 mactoogie
Kevin de Klerk displays signs of delusion when he says : “The other guys ran, just like we expected them to run, especially my ‘pal’ there in the Free State … he is known for that,” the Lions boss told this website.
He thinks Free State don’t realise they are the next team on the chopping block. Self-preservation
23 Aug 2012, 11:08 am
@Horings-87: That would be something! And with Sarel out of favour in Aus and back for the CC, who knows maybe he’ll see the light and come back, not that I have anything against the other okes (not a fan of de Bruyn tbh but Jacques Coetzee at Griquas is a real live wire) just imagine that back line:
9. Sarel
10. Goosen
11. Willie le Roux
12. Rob Ebersohn (usually a 13 I know but he has the handling to be a 12)
13. Sadie
14. Riaan Smit/Rhule
15. Taute (with Mustang Daniller on the bench)
In the last couple of years cheetahs have become my second team, I’d love to see them succeed without having to compromise their breed of rugby. It makes me vicariously proud (despite have=ing never even been to FS!) to see guys like Juan Smith and Heinrich Brussouw stay loyal to the franchise when they KNOW they could be millionaires over seas…
23 Aug 2012, 11:08 am
@MacToogie-105: cool man ja too much politics maybe but then look inward instead of blaming others for your issues.
thats what winners do.
23 Aug 2012, 11:09 am
@PissAnt-103: wasnt it a few months ago that Lions were 75 mill in debt over and above their assets (does this not include EPS?), if that is the case they would still have to start in the minus.
23 Aug 2012, 11:09 am
@Transformation-107: These Bulls pom pom chicks have got the ‘woe be me and my fellow Bulls fans, we are victims’ act down to Olympic qualifying standards. I expect them to be clocking Usain Bolt like times in the ’100m Boo Hoo everyone hates us and Heyneke” dash by November.
23 Aug 2012, 11:09 am
@kingcorn-91: “The Kings have had millions thrown at them by Saru only for them to piss it up the wall. I believe that if they used their investment correctly, they could be a competitive super rugby franchise within 5 years,”
really, how many millions has SARU thrown at them?
23 Aug 2012, 11:10 am
@Transformation-107: The only player that left because of PDiv is Pienaar and that is after PDiv selected him.
23 Aug 2012, 11:10 am
@PissAnt-103: Sounds great! They the bulls wouldnt need to sign so much youngsters because they would have an abundant pool of youngsters in the Gauteng region.
23 Aug 2012, 11:12 am
@viewer-108: i said it the other day, the way he talks about players and unions, players should stick around and unions musnt approach them just becau se they not playing in SR, WTF??? is the oke(union) stuck in the amateur era or what?
23 Aug 2012, 11:12 am
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-112: yep! i noticed how short-lived the honeymoon was between heyneke and the guppys yesterday when “captain” keegan was dropped for jacque “kardashian” potgieter
beeyoootiful
23 Aug 2012, 11:13 am
the lions reckon they have all their seniors contracted till 2013.
how the hell will they pay them?
with braai packs and brannewyn rond die vuur?
bs.
the lions better hope the circling unions dont feel murderous because if they do, the lions are toast.
for starters, the sharks will take rhodes, whitely and cilliers back.
23 Aug 2012, 11:14 am
@Sasuke-115: Ya to be honest this whole move will probably strengthen SA rugby… In a warped kind of way… Thing is, Kings are basing a lot of their strategy on the premise that they’ll be using an untapped source of talent, previously disadvantaged talent in the EC, so the majority of the current pool will be shared between 4 teams now instead of 5. Especially if you think how many Lions players came from Stellenbosch or KZN, it probably bodes well for WP and the Sharks, and the Cheetahs will become the go-to team for youngsters in search of game time. Silver lining I guess, but scant consolation for lions supporters.
23 Aug 2012, 11:14 am
@Transformation-113: was gonna ask the same thing lol, as far as i can see they are fighting like a wounded beast for the scraps the SA rugby community is throwing down to them
23 Aug 2012, 11:15 am
@Horings-114: yeah right, when pdv didn’t select joe pietersen and went with the likes of percy, connie, fransie most here blamed him…
23 Aug 2012, 11:15 am
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-112:
the funny thing is it’ll be the non bulls who will have rock solid morning glory hard ons for meyer when the boks go from success to succcess.
schizophrenic much…
23 Aug 2012, 11:16 am
@Sasuke-115: Try selling the idea to the Loftus faithful. They will not be happy to drive from Pretoria to the south of Johannesburg on the N1 on a Friday afternoon.
23 Aug 2012, 11:16 am
but can you imagine the shock some of the lions players will feel when they arent asked to do renovations on the coach’s house or are expected to actually train?
try that rebellion s h it at a properly run union and they will be loooking for contracts in namibia.
23 Aug 2012, 11:17 am
@rangerman-118: Don’t be surprised if SARU end up having to pay them out… Lions entered into those contracts based on thair reasonable belief that they would still be in SA rugby in 2013, including all the financial benefits that come with it… It’s fair to say that they wouldnt have entered into the contracts if they had known what was coming and SARU led them to believe that they would be taken care of, so in theory SARU induced them into committing themselves to make payments with misinformation… Sounds like a court case to me.
23 Aug 2012, 11:18 am
@rangerman-124: damn i want to star or favourite this post so hard.
23 Aug 2012, 11:18 am
why on earth would the bulls make any kind of deal with the lions regarding amalgamation?
as i see it, the bulls could set themselves up nicely with three feeder partner unions, the leopards, the pumas and the lions.
hectic but thats where the lions are headed right now.
23 Aug 2012, 11:19 am
@Transformation-117:
kim piotgieter
@rangerman-118:
braai packs en brannewyn
23 Aug 2012, 11:20 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-94:
WP weren’t relegated. The format for the S10 at that time had the top 3 provinces in the local NZ and SA domestic competition qualify. EP was one of the in the first year.
23 Aug 2012, 11:21 am
@Tarlo-119: The Lions should try setting up loan contract for their players to the Bulls and Cheetahs for the 2013 Super rugby season. The Lions will then get their players back for the relegation game and the Bulls and Cheetahs will add some depth. The players will also be able to do this without making a permanent move, especially if they get a loan contract in Pretoria.
23 Aug 2012, 11:22 am
@Tarlo-125: sounds like a stretch to me bud.
saru have the final say.
what the lions choose to do wrt contracting is up to them, not saru as they are an independantly operated franchise.
they will get cleaned up in court imo.
@MacToogie-126: haha. that lions union is a joke, has been for years and yet all this disbelief is flowing as though these clowns actually added value to our rugby.
how many lions have been boks over the last 5 years?
i feel for the supporters, not the management.
23 Aug 2012, 11:23 am
what intrigues me is why so many wp supporters are scrambling over the lions bargain basement sale of players?
haven’t we been told ad nauseum that wp hold the moral high ground and develop their own talent?
that the shark’s pedigree is lower than sharkshyte and they are a bunch of mercenaries?
that the nasty bulls are buying up all schoolboy talent?
hypocritical much?
23 Aug 2012, 11:25 am
@David-129: yes david, they were relegated.
when you play in a comp in one year and then are not admitted the next, its relegation.
paint it how you like buddy.
@Horings-130: they can try this but imo they cant pay the contracts presently and will defo not be able to next year.
so the other unions must just maar wait and there will be bargains aplenty to be had.
sa rugby as we know it has changed.
23 Aug 2012, 11:27 am
@charo-132: ag wp have been cannibalising other provinces for decades but they always hid it through doc cravens luurvely stellies scheme.
now that they cant do that they have been more open and their team are basically the biggest collection of mercs in sa today.
this is nothing new
23 Aug 2012, 11:27 am
@charo-132:
i have 2 points
WP ARE hypocrites and Sharks ARE mercenaries
23 Aug 2012, 11:29 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-122: The way I read things round here,many non-Bulls fans will have rock solid morning glory hard ons if Meyer fails, not if he succeeds.
“we told you so” is such a turnon for some.
I’m not wishing failure on The Meyer…….. just yet
23 Aug 2012, 11:30 am
So what is this article actually saying?
The Kings could have an extension, but wont get it. The Lions as a business could merge if they wanted to but nobody will want to merge with them…
So nothing really. The Lions and the Kings are still screwed. If this keeps on going the Lions will soon lose all of their decent players. And the Kings wont sign any decent players, not even aborting Lions players. The only silver lining is that the other franchises will gain a few quality players.
What a big F up. Why dont SARU grow some balls and give Greg Peters the finger and negotiate with the broadcasters on their own to change the format in 2014 to accomodate all 6 SA teams. This could be the best solution.
SA brings in most of the income so why not declare mutiny on SANZAR and take control? Theyve got more than enough leverage. Helll get Louis Luyt to do it if thats what it will take!
Louis Luyt Louis Luyt Louis Luyt HELP !
23 Aug 2012, 11:35 am
@Jeez-137: i dont think SARU would pull a mutinous move like that, but once re-negotiations take place for 2016 i have a feeling they will start using their viewership clout a bit more (this might just be me hoping)
23 Aug 2012, 11:35 am
@rangerman-124:
hehehe
any union buying lions players would do well to make them take a written 300 marks multiple choice test first.
‘baywatch, what is a 22 meter line?’
is it:
a. the length of washing line needed to hang all the team jerseys?
b. the regulation distance a backyard braai place can be placed from a neighbouring house?
c. the distance a lions exec needs to travel to get to the boardroom buffet.
or
d. none of the above.
23 Aug 2012, 11:36 am
@rangerman-134:
That’s not going to go down well with Corporal Cunteye.
23 Aug 2012, 11:39 am
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-136: I do not understand the logic of those people? Meyer certainly deserves his shout at being bok coach, why all the negativity? He hasn’t lost a game yet and has displayed a calm head and been prudent. Why are people anti Meyer? Because he is aligned to the Bulls?
23 Aug 2012, 11:40 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-139: hahaha, too many knocks to the head imo.
@gunther-140:
he will be spitting wasps at me soon i guess.
23 Aug 2012, 11:42 am
tony mckeever must be laughing his arse off at kevin de klerk.
nobody knows about the ineptitude and skullduggery of hoskins and kie better than mckeever
SA Rugby needs ‘a mind like a fox’
Loading …
This last Monday afternoon I had the absolute and distinct pleasure of being invited by BDO to listen to an hour and a half of Clem Sunter, going on about scenario planning, terrorist attacks, the collapse of the economy, the rise of the economy and the future prospects of South Africa.
If you haven’t attended one of his presentations, you would most likely have heard of, as I had done, that Clem Sunter is a past Chairman of Anglo American and has the usual large corporate big wig, with blah blah blah and yada yada yada resume to go with it.
Well on Monday, this man had my riveted attention. Not because he wrote to President George Bush predicting the terrorist attack in New York, three months in advance of 9-11; or that he made a presentation to FW de Klerk and the Cabinet in 1986 and visited Nelson Mandela in prison to discuss the future just before his release; or that he provided a scholarship to UCT Chemical Engineering for a 17-year-old black St. John’s student, who got straight As for matric, and then came first in the USA for having patented a rocket propellant superior to that developed by NASA, but because this man can laugh infectiously and talk sense at the same time.
Clem Sunter’s famous quote of: “It is better to be vaguely right, than precisely wrong” sent a chilling message, of how dogmatic and stubborn we South Africans can be, with our blinkered tunnel vision, which he describes as a “hedgehog” characteristic with a one goal only approach, which most corporate CEOs have.
Conversely, Clem advocates that one needs to have a mind characteristic of a fox that enables one to react to different market forces and influences with a variety of options and actions that one has partial or full control over.
His premise is simple: Business is a game and just like any other game, the point is to win.
First you need to decide what type of game (business) you’re playing, where the game is being played (the geographical footprint of the business) and who you’re playing against.
Next, you need to understand the rules of the game.
So let’s take rugby in South Africa. Their business is rugby as entertainment, the game is being played nationally, in the southern hemisphere and Europe and they are playing against the SANZAR, CAR and the Top Ten IRB listed rugby nations . List their modern day challenges that they need to overcome and then randomly list them and suggest possible scenarios. Of course skeptics will say there are too many to mention, so we will limit this to just the Top Ten (for starters) and rank them on a scale of one (for extremely bad) to 10 (for outstanding) rank in SA Rugby.
1. Growth of rugby
2. Transformation
3. Financial sustainability
4. Expansion of the Super 14
5. Expansion in the southern hemisphere
6. Bidding for the 2015 & 2019 Rugby World Cups
7. Competent administration
8. Accountability
9. Performance driven
10. Winning
Of these Top Ten criteria, SA Rugby can only rely on point 10. Winning as being above average and even that category is being decimated. One out of three wins in the end of year tour against Wales(8), Scotland(15) and England(22) will be rated as a failure, three out of three would be a good round off to the year and two out of three wins would again be above average.
In the meantime, SA Rugby’s relationships with key stakeholders are fragile to hostile, with:
1. Its nine smaller unions (Pumas, Griffons, Griquas, Falcons, Leopards, Border, EP, SWD and Boland)
2. Parliamentary Portfolio Committee of Sport
3. Minister of Sport
4. SANZAR partners New Zealand and Australia
5. Confederation of African Rugby
6. Sponsors
7. Broadcasters
8. Ireland
9. Argentina
10. South African rugby players
Almost without exception, SA Rugby’s modus operandi is reactive to events, rather than being proactive in which they can be “vaguely right, rather than precisely wrong” and the organisation is continually on the back foot having to defend itself or try and litigate its way out of conflict scenarios, with enormous financial liabilities looming.
In the process, SA Rugby as an organisation is being stigmatised and marginalised from mainstream sports and South Africans in a continuous process of attrition that has started to make the game appear dysfunctional.
Racism is rife and players are killed on and off the field in bouts of violence and thuggery that remain uncontrolled, in a state that is unlike anywhere in over 100 rugby playing nations around the world.
In the next three to four months there will be a series of momentous events that will rock rugby and put it in an apocolyptic state, necessitating an intervention to salvage the dignity of the game.
Every single one of the Top Ten Achilles’ Heels will trigger its own sequence of negative events that will compound itself with one or more of the other categories, resulting in an organisation spiralling out of control.
Virtually everything about SA Rugby’s future is uncertain and beyond the control of individual players in the Presidents Council, except that of Regan Hoskins, who as President of SA Rugby can bring about initiatives to halt this, as he has the leadership role and is involved in every single one of the above Top Ten forces that are about to change rugby’s environment.
For SA Rugby to stave off this meltdown, it has to introduce a model that integrates scenario planning of these Top Ten categories, into the mainstream process of strategic planning and decision-making in South Africa and abroad.
It will allow the executive teams of SA Rugby, SANZAR, Confederation of Rugby, IRB, sponsors and broadcasters and the 14 SARU Unions to test the resilience of their strategies and tactics against different scenarios and implement alternatives faster and more effectively.
The issue is of course: does SA Rugby acknowledge that there is an elephant in the room and do something about it?
If not, fasten your seatbelt and don your crash helmet as there is a roller coaster ride ahead that will make your head spin.
In a final message from Clem Sunter, the critical difference between hedgehogs and foxes is their attitude to strategy. Hedgehogs will stick to a strategy through thick and thin and never consider any deviations.
Foxes will stick to a strategy but regularly check out the environment to see whether the strategy should be amended in any way. It is his contention that while a hedgehog approach to strategy may have been successful in the past because a company’s environment was predictable and, up to a point, controllable, that condition no longer applies and a foxy approach is more suitable.
Strategies where you have limited power and certainty differ materially from strategies where you can create the certainty because you have the power.
It is really up to SA Rugby to create these certainties with an unabashed campaign of engagement and interaction, as opposed to isolation and hostility.
The responsibility falls squarely at Regan Hoskins’ feet and for him to be backed by the SA Rugby Presidents Council.
23 Aug 2012, 11:45 am
But I agree, realistically speaking the best solution for SA rugby would be if the Lions merge with the Bulls and become a brand new Rugby franchise with a new name and everything. The Gauteng Franchise= The Northern Plateaus or something. The NORTHERN SPITBRAAIERS. Or whatever.
Logistically, and regarding the regional fan base, its the best solution.
They can still compete separately in the Currie Cup, but play as one super rugby franchise. The Curry Cup keeps the Bulls and Lions’ history and pride intact. Its the CC that holds all the provincial traditions and history which SA rugby supporters hold so dear. So why not just form a brand new brand for the people up North.
Go Northern Spit Braaiersssssss! Then SA wil ALWAYS have at least 3 top teams in the super rugby comp.
23 Aug 2012, 11:46 am
@rangerman-133:
WP didn’t qualify in ’94, but they did in ’95. In which case so were Natal in ’95. The Bulls never qualified for the S10.
23 Aug 2012, 11:46 am
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-136:
mkay…
23 Aug 2012, 11:47 am
@PissAnt-103:
Why should the Bulls formalize this situation – through a franchise contract (thereby having to share revenue with the Lions) – when they could just have this de facto situation for free, as they currently do, with all the best players from the Lions union coming to the Bulls to be contracted or on loan in any case?
23 Aug 2012, 11:47 am
Transformation there is no way Im reading your essay
23 Aug 2012, 11:48 am
@David-145:
no, you mean the super 12.
this from wikipedia, david:
The 1996 Super 12 season was the inaugural season of the Super 12,
While the three Australian and five New Zealands teams remained the same as the 1996 season, the South African teams made changes. Transvaal, after the changes of the political landscape of South Africa, became known as the Gauteng Lions; while Western Province, after not making the top four of the 1996 Currie Cup, were replaced by Free State of Bloemfontein.
23 Aug 2012, 11:52 am
@Transformation-10: No Transie, Cilliers should come back and play with his brothers at the Sharks…..
Agree though Province and Bulls needs him more than we do, but would rather he came back home to the Sharks.
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