No EP vote for rugby president
AS things stand, the EP Rugby Union will not have a vote at today’s SA Rugby annual meeting in Cape Town, where there will be a battle for the presidency.
SA Rugby officials said EP’s right to vote revolved around financial issues, but the executive committee could restore those rights ahead of the meeting.
“We are waiting for SA Rugby to come back to us. It should be done before the meeting,” EP Rugby president Andre Rademan said.
“I am waiting for certain things to come through that I must sign off. I think we should get it back.”
Despite recent upheavals and the downward spiral of the Springboks, president Mark Alexander is expected to be voted in for another term of office.
Though Alexander will face opposition from little-known Leopards president Andre May, insiders say the incumbent enjoys enough support to win.
With the Springboks now a lowly sixth in the world rankings and the union declaring a massive loss last week, some delegates might feel the time is right for a palace revolution.
For the second straight year, SA Rugby has declared a massive loss to take its deficit over the past two years to close to R60-million.
It announced a R33.3-million loss for the 2017 financial year‚ which comes on the back of a R23.3-million loss in 2016.
There were mitigating circumstances due to the price of bidding for Rugby World Cup 2023‚ which added more than R24-million to costs for the year.
Adding the Southern Kings and Cheetahs to PRO14 also cost the union more than R30-million.
How much support May enjoys remains to be a seen, though it would be a major shock if he managed to unseat Alexander.
It is said that despite the misgivings that some may have over his leadership, Alexander remains a popular figure on the rugby circuit.
He has had close dealings with EP rugby recently and visited Port Elizabeth several times after a cash crisis hit the union.
It is expected Alexander will garner support from the big unions‚ while May will want the smaller unions to gather around his flag.
May’s nomination, along with that of Dr Jan Marais as deputy president‚ has been interpreted as a revolt by the smaller unions who seek a revamp of SA Rugby’s competition structure. Marais will oppose former national selector Francois Davids‚ while the position of vice-president‚ occupied by James Stofberg‚ will be made redundant.
WP president Thelo Wakefield has been nominated to serve on the executive council, but so too are Vivian Lottering‚ Schalk Liebenberg‚ Hein Mentz‚ Lindsay Mould‚ Arthob Petersen and JJ van der Mescht.
They will all vie for the two available seats on the council.
Former Springbok team manager Petersen wants to make a comeback to the sport, but he will face tough opposition for the two executive council seats that have become available.
Alexander took over in 2016 after Oregan Hoskins stepped aside following a decade-long reign in SA rugby’s top job. Nominations President: Mark Alexander (incumbent president), Andre May (Leopards). Deputy president: Francois Davids (incumbent deputy president), Jan Marais (Griffons). Executive council: Vivian Lottering (incumbent, Falcons), Valke), Schalk Liebenberg (KZN), Hein Mentz (Pumas), Lindsay Mould (Free State), Arthob Petersen (Boland), JJ van der Mescht (Blue Bulls), Thelo Wakefield (WP).