Share
11th May 2021
05:04pm BST
Siya Kolisi, 'Beast' Mtawawira and Mbongeni Mbonambi show their emotion following the South African national anthem at the 2019 World Cup, in Japan. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)[/caption]
SA Rugby says it has lost 710m RAND (just over €415,000) for 2020, which is some going when you consider the loss of revenue from Test match rugby, the wider Super Rugby competition and the lucrative Sevens Series event it hosts.
'The fall was caused by cuts in broadcast and sponsorship income,' the SA Rugby release reads, 'while the cancellation of the Test programme and the HSBC Cape Town Sevens – among other things – meant zero income was realised from major events.'
"By the end of the year it was a triumph to still be in business," said Jurie Roux, SA Rugby chief executive. "We did not have the reserves to ride out the storm without any impact, nor were government bailouts available. It took a unique collaboration across the industry to arrive at a drastic cost cutting plan to keep the sport afloat."Getting the Lions to commit to touring South Africa this year, according to Craig Ray, may have saved SA Rugby from going bust.
"[Union] insiders had told me, if the Lions Tour doesn't go ahead, South African rugby could collapse. It's that vital to the rugby economy here in South Africa."Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber had been hoping to line up warm-up game for their world champion Springbok side against the USA and Japan, but they have not been confirmed yet. Two Tests against Georgia have been confirmed, though, and there will be broadcast revenue generated by that. [caption id="attachment_227879" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]
South Africa director of rugby Rassie Erasmus shakes hands with Springboks head coach Jacques Nienaber during a January 2020 press engagement. (Photo by Johan Rynners/Gallo Images/Getty Images)[/caption]
If either the USA or Japan cannot travel down - and their dance cards are filling up with northern hemisphere sides - the Boks may split their wider squad in two for an old-school 'Probables' vs. 'Possibles' game, ahead of the Lions Test Series. Getting fans back through the gates, even at a fraction of the full capacity, would boost the coffers.
Brendan Nel a long-time rugby writer in South African says SA Rugby are pushing for up to 50% capacity, especially for the Test matches in Cape Town and Johannesburg. "The problems comes, again, from the government and their hesitancy," he says, "but they may have access to more information than we have.
"Daily cases are down to where they were in January - around the 20,000s - but the vaccine programme has been lagging behind. So it's whether that can picked up before the Lions get here [in late June]."
"There's still a lot of talk," says Ray. "I spoke with someone at SARU today and they are hopeful [about getting crowds in].
"They government may accede to allowing some fans into stadiums, but I don't think that it will be more than 10,000, at any given moment. That's just a guess, based on some of the conversations I've had. "So it's going to be a very different Lions Tour for everyone, especially for the Lions. One of the great things, even as a host nation, with the Lions is the tens of thousands of Lions supporters in red shirts you see in the stands, and the unique atmosphere it brings. That's all going to be gone. It's going to be tough on the players, but I guess they got used to that."Ray says the likes of South African captain Siya Kolisi and many of his teammates have enough internal motivation to push them through these big games on the horizon, whether crowds are in the stadiums or watching from home. Once they have something to play for again, after over 550 days without a Test match, it is enough. "There were a lot of happy people once that Lions squad was named," he says, "because it makes it real. It makes it feel like it is going to game. "After all the angst and anxiety over the past year, it felt pivotal."
Explore more on these topics:
