Alexander wants rugby overhauled
President-elect wants radical change in new path
HE may be diminutive in stature but SA Rugby president-elect Mark Alexander wants to shake the tree when he officially takes office next month.
The timber he wants to come to grips with is long established but he believes even deeprooted methods in how the sport is administered and indeed played need to be challenged.
To that end, he will encourage equity partnerships while facilitating an overhaul of the way the game is played.
That’s chewing a lot at a time the sport in South Africa faces its greatest challenges.
The Springboks are no longer a universally feared team, the country’s top players as well as those further down the supply chain are in pursuit of the euro and yen. The game is battling to attract the sponsorship it once did, the sport’s transformation is a perennial grey area, amateurism is rife among its provincial structures while its administrators frequently invite unflattering headlines.
In short, South Africa is losing its status as one of the game’s traditional powerhouses.
Alexander acknowledges radical change is needed to help shape a new path.
“The first task would be the restructuring of the organisation in order to win back investor confidence and attract equity partners as well as sponsors,” he told the Sunday Times.
“We will have a coaching indaba in October where we will plot a new direction and game plan for South Africa.”
He promised to unveil other “exciting initiatives” after the October 27 elections as part of a more comprehensive strategy.
He said: “I’ve got a clear idea of how I want to take South Africa forward.”
He will also set in motion a 100-day Action Plan. “We have a good product but we need to reorganise ourselves better.”
Why the need for further restructuring given the frequency with which the SA Rugby deck chairs have been rearranged over the past 15 years?
“Rugby is so dynamic,” he said. “We will create an avenue for equity partners to participate at a higher level.
“As far as amateur rugby is concerned, we will organise ourselves within the set out geographic boundaries.
“The professional arms of these provinces will remain the same.”
The sport’s transformation agenda remains an unpinned hand grenade. “Transformation is linked to our long-term survival, prosperity and sustainable competitiveness. If you don’t bring more people into the system, our game won’t survive the next 20 years.
“Unfortunately, most people just focus on the shop window but if you look at the Craven Week, the SA Schools team, the players are coming through the system. If you look up to Currie Cup level, they are there. We have some work to do in Super Rugby.
“You’ll never be able to weed out the racists. We will [by] pass them because we have certain things to deliver. In all societies, you will have people with different opinions.
“We need to attract the other 80% of the population to our game as spectators, as officials and as players if we want to survive in this market. The reality is all businesses, in fact all sectors of society, have to transform to meet the requirements of the new South Africa.”
Finding equity partners for provincial unions will, if not stem, at least slow the player migration to the northern hemisphere.
“We are consulting with our multinational companies to assist us in putting plans in place to retain our athletes,” said the acting president.
Rugby at the moment, however, is a hard sell.
“We took a knock at the start of the year after the minister [Fikile Mbalula] announced the results of the Eminent Persons Report. But we are recovering well. Unfortunately some organisations still think the minister doesn’t support rugby. We have his full support.
“If we meet the [transformation] targets, the ministry will support our World Cup bid for 2023. Between six and 9% of our GDP comes from tourism. It is a strategic imperative to host important international events like that.”
Some believe Alexander is too much of a political beast and that he has fingers in too many pies. It makes him undeniably well connected.
Importantly though, he seems undaunted by the challenges. “It is the most challenging time but it is also the most exciting. Now we need to shake the tree and change the way we deliver the game.”
All sectors have to transform to meet the requirements of the new SA