Mark gets seat at world table
South Africa has another seat at World Rugby’s top table.
SA Rugby president Mark Alexander has been elected to World Rugby’s executive council following elections held in Dublin.
He will join another South African‚ Wendy Luhabe‚ who has served on the executive as an independent member.
Alexander beat former Irish flanker John O’Driscoll‚ who toured South Africa with the British and Irish Lions in 1980‚ to the seat.
Whether the seat will provide South Africa more clout in the game’s highest decision-making body‚ remains to be seen.
The country has for some time lacked authority at the game’s top table.
Alexander will be acutely aware of the need to establish himself among the game’s power brokers and affect decisions that impact South Africa as a major rugby nation.
It was he who presided over a failed bid to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup (RWC) when the country lost out to France last year.
Decisions affecting match officials is another area in which the country needs to more vociferously state its case.
When asked if the country needs to make its voice heard more forcefully at the game’s highest level‚ Alexander was non-committal.
“World Rugby is moving into a phase where they want to embed stronger corporate governance‚” he said from Dublin.
“They have done away with the different committees that took care of different aspects of the game.
“That’s why they have strong independent members like Wendy Luhabe.”
Earlier in a SA Rugby drafted statement Alexander said: “It is a huge honour to be named on the executive body among a number of highly respected administrators in the game.
“South Africa has had a strong representation on the executive over time‚ and I am proud and humbled to follow in that tradition.
“These are exciting times for rugby with a number of opportunities – as well as challenges – and I am delighted to be part of this group that will be determined to continue the growth and interest in the game around the world.”
Alexander‚ who became a member of the World Rugby council in 2016‚ will occupy the seat on the executive vacated by Ireland’s Pat Whelan who stepped down earlier this year.
At the meeting in Dublin‚ World Rugby’s second for the year‚ Fiji and Samoa were welcomed onto an expanded council‚ while Burkina Faso and Lebanon were accepted as associate members on an historic day for the international federation.