Currie Cup threat
SA Rugby stands to lose R400m if stand-off with players is not resolved and competition is called off
● The prospect of not playing this year’s Currie Cup is too scary to contemplate as it will remove nearly R400-million from domestic rugby’s coffers and put the jobs of 60% of the country’s professional players at risk.
It is for that reason, it is hoped, the impasse between the South African Rugby Employers Organisation (Sareo) and the players’ organisation MyPlayers will likely be resolved amicably.
Their stand-off has been referred for arbitration but various stakeholders are optimistic the matter will be resolved before it goes the full legal distance.
“The lawyers are talking to each other, and let’s see what transpires. Sanity will prevail,” said SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer.
A president as well as a CEO at provincial level were equally sanguine.
At the crux of the matter is how the players’ rest periods are managed. The players are limited to 32 matches a year but how their eight-week rest period is managed has become highly contentious.
MyPlayers insist the players all need to rest at the same time and that they don’t play for eight consecutive weeks. For the major rugby-playing nations having the game grind to a halt for eight straight weeks is almost unheard of.
It is worth noting that since South Africa joined European competition the country’s players have had to carry a considerable burden. Players have generally been given a fiveweek and a three-week break to make up the balance.
Giving the players a straight eight-week break will deal a terminal blow to SA Rugby’s plans to breathe new life into the Currie Cup.
The competition has been allocated a new July-September slot so it does not clash with the United Rugby Championship (URC). Though the Springboks will be in action over those months, domestically all eyes can be trained on the oldest provincial competition in the world.
“We have signed with SAB and they are our sponsor for the Currie Cup,” said Oberholzer. “The broadcaster, SuperSport, told us that [an] earlier slot doesn’t suit them, and they won’t be televising the matches. They showed us how viewership of the Currie Cup dropped. It made no sense.”
A provincial CEO explained the realities his union will face should this year’s tournament not materialise. “The contribution we get for playing in the Currie Cup is R10m. Obviously our sponsor will withdraw if there is no competition. If that happens we lose another R2m to R5m.”
Time, for him, is of the essence. “The important thing is that it needs to be resolved, whether through arbitration, or outside of that process. With arbitration, though, things can get drawn out and become a long process.”
Oberholzer was hopeful the matter will be resolved next month. If no solution is found, the consequences are too dire. “It has to be played. If it is not played, there will be problems for all South African teams,” he said.
“How are they going to pay players if there is no Currie Cup? How are they going to satisfy their sponsors? These are the things people don’t think about. Without the Currie Cup 60% of our professional players are without a job. I don’t think the preservation of rugby in this country is being considered.”
MyPlayers, for now, declined to comment, but they will beat the drum of player welfare which has increasingly gained prominence in how the professional rugby landscape is shaped.
While eight straight weeks off very much serves the interest of player welfare, the bigger picture perhaps holds a far more stark reality. “If you are going to address a problem you have to take the whole picture into account,” said Oberholzer.
“The laaitie [lad] that plays for the Leopards or the Pumas will no longer have an opportunity to play. Who is looking after his interest? I don’t think anyone is that shortsighted to bring this kind of tragedy to South African rugby.”
The lawyers are talking to each other, and let’s see what transpires. Sanity will prevail Rian Oberholzer
SA Rugby CEO