We need to save our rugby projects
Two unrelated articles came out over the past two weeks. Interestingly, they were on the same subject but from different, yet inter-related vantage points. One was an expression of fear by Mihlali Mpafi, a Border Bulldogs player, who shared his and teammates’ fears as a result of the financial woes of the Border Rugby Union.
Mpafi told us that, “some of us are breadwinners, some of us have just got married ….” and “we use playing on the field to market ourselves” to other bigger teams.
He stopped short of stating the obvious, that if Border Rugby Union had been liquidated, their careers as rugby professionals would have ended. Basically the lives of their families would have been decimated. They faced the ignominy of their dreams being shattered and careers cut short.
As if that was not enough, another article reported on a French entrepreneur and investor in rugby. Late in 2017 it had been strongly rumoured that he was courting Southern Kings and intended to purchase a stake in the company. That was great news to the Southern Kings because, after all, every international rugby club requires an equity partner with very deep pockets.
It is not just a necessity, but it is an imperative.
My hopes came to a thunderous collapse when he emphatically dispelled the rumour that he had plans to buy an equity stake in the Southern Kings. With so public a pronouncement, an all too often sense of disappointment revisited the Eastern Cape.
These two stories characterise the life and state of rugby in the Eastern Cape. One depicts the precarious life of the talented players, the other dearth of sponsorship and investor prospects for rugby in the Eastern Cape
The great paradox of this situation is that the Eastern Cape has 40% of the rugby playing population, and yet they are the perennial underachievers, because both Border Rugby Union and Eastern Province Rugby Union are not sufficiently attractive to private investors or to sponsors. While the trend in the country is that the financial architecture of Rugby Unions, is built on the SA Rugby Union distribution, an equity partner and a number of sponsorship deals keep these unions in the black.
Rugby in the Eastern Cape does not have blue-chip sponsors nor do they have equity partners to inject the necessary capital to make them viable sports brands. As a consequence of this, they have difficulty in retaining local talent and find it equally difficult to attract talent from outside the Eastern Cape. Indeed, every year we see the exodus of young rugby talent – leaving the Eastern Cape, as early as their high school days, in pursuit of opportunities elsewhere.
Southern Kings which is participating in international competition against well-resourced clubs from Ireland, Wales, France and Italy, is stunted in its growth by lack of financial resources that match those of its competitors. The Cheetahs, the other South African franchise competing in the Pro14, has been able to give a great account of themselves in the 2017-8 season all because they are reasonably well resourced.
Why must anyone make all of this their business, one may ask?
Let me be bold to say that every member of our society with a care about their town, city, region and country must and ought to feel obligated to take the situation by the scruff of the neck and turn it around. It is in the enlightened self-interest of the Eastern Cape and South Africans of vision to change the situation that obtains in the Eastern Cape Rugby world.
At an emotional level, it is the Eastern Cape that gifted rugby to South Africa and so it should never be allowed to die in the Eastern Cape. The Eastern Cape ought to be the logical custodian. After all, rugby was first played at eGazini, in Grahamstown many moons ago.
At a rugby level, only this region can produce the sufficient number of players to make rugby lose its historical racial stigma. Only the Eastern Cape can remove the racepolitics from rugby, merely by providing rugby talent right up to the Springboks.
At the centre of all famous cities and city regions of the world, is a sports brands that has saved those cities during the difficult economic times. The cities like Liverpool and Manchester come to mind.
Sport is an industry, it spawns related industries, it stimulates megaevents. It creates both employment and entrepreneurial opportunities.
I have been given the opportunity to save both Border and Eastern Province Rugby unions at a time when the best business decision should have been to allow them to die. We succeeded, in saving them. What remains is to take these rugby institutions from being a “fooi tog” cases into a giant sports industrial complex built by all of Eastern Cape. This is a crusade. Let everyone of goodwill, make the building Border, EP Rugby, Southern Kings, a “Thuma Mina” project.
●Tabata