SA Rugby: R150 Million: Gone in 60 Minutes!

(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Last week Thursday SANZAR (South Africa, New Zealand and Australian Rugby Unions) met in a watershed meeting in Dublin, to discuss the expansion of Super Rugby from 2011-2015, in the Southern Hemisphere and especially the broadcast agreement that needs to be tabled to the broadcasters (Newscorp and SuperSport) on or before the 30th June.

Each was represented by Andy Marinos—Acting Managing Director SA Rugby Pty Ltd,, Steve Tew-CEO NZRU and John O'Neill—CEO the ARU. 

Here is an overview of what was and still exists in terms of the broadcast agreement, signed with SANZAR in 2004, that believe it or not, was chiefly brokered by Brian van Rooyen then President of SA Rugby.

Brian van Rooyen is an accountant and clearly understood that as South Africa contributed over 50 percent of the revenues to the partnership of SANZAR, they should rightfully be entitled to a 38 percent share of the broadcast sponsorship revenues.

Proportionately NZRU and the ARU each received 32 percent and 29 percent respectively of the revenues. This was the precedent set in 2004. 

The revenues in this instance were $323,000,000-00 and this would remain the base from which to negotiate north of this number, for the 2011-2015 Super Rugby window, especially with an additional rugby inventory in each of the three SANZAR markets for the broadcasters to on sell to advertisers, plus factoring a CPIX increase of 10 percent per annum for the next five years. 

Somehow or another and it is hardly surprising, Marinos, the Acting Managing Director of SA Rugby Pty Ltd, not only has been out witted, out smarted and out negotiated in the expansion of Super Rugby, by failing to secure a position for the sixth South African rugby franchise, the Southern Kings, for the next six years.

As well as agreed to concede SA Rugby's share of the broadcast revenues from 38 percent to 33 percent, by five percent, to make it a tidy third each, for the SANZAR partners. 

The thunderclap of this five percent concession, in Rands and Cents, is that Marinos has surrendered R150,000,000-00 in revenues that should have been coming to SA Rugby from 2011-2015 and it is reverberating around the 14 SA Rugby Unions, his employers, for the moment. 

Put the size of the respective rugby markets in perspective to evaluate just how important South Africa is to the SANZAR alliance: 

1. South Africa:1010 Clubs and 512,000 registered rugby players 

2. New Zealand: 595 Clubs and 140,000 registered rugby players 

3. Australia: 848 Clubs and 83,000 registered rugby players 

In any other language, this is tantamount to an Acting Executive officer of SA Rugby Pty Ltd, giving away the family silver, as they have no assets, none, other than the broadcast agreements and the goodwill of their trademarks. 

This is without doubt SA Rugby's greatest philanthropic gesture ever, to New Zealand and Australia and one so culpable, that it defies belief.

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