Lines have been drawn in the debate over whether South African teams should remain in the Champions and Challenge Cups next year, with financial necessity pitted against player welfare.
This comes after SA Rugby president Mark Alexander said, following Saru’s AGM last week, that all competitions involving South African teams were under review.
A workshop involving union presidents, CEOs and coaches will be held in July to discuss the 11-month season and the strain it places on unions, most notably a recurring injury crisis ahead of the international season.
One proposal is withdrawal from the Champions Cup and second-tier Challenge Cup, although Alexander stressed that nothing has been finalised.
“We play for 11 months in a year and nowhere else do they do that. We can continue going like this until we implode, or we can find another way,” he said, adding that a global calendar would help.
Finances v player welfare
Sharks owner Marco Masotti hit back, saying that although he was aware of the issue of player welfare -the Sharks finished both of the last two seasons with around 20 injured senior players – South African unions could not afford to step away from European rugby’s premier tournaments.
If they did, he would walk.
“It is important for rugby that we invest in the club game and have the South African franchises play in the most high-profile and lucrative competitions,” Masotti told the media.
“The major South African franchises operate at a loss, and someone like me needs to cover them.
“The model of Saru making decisions for private businesses and effectively pushing the costs of financing the game in South Africa onto the major unions is not sustainable.
“Let me be clear, I will no longer fund the losses if we pull out of the Champions Cup.”
Fans caught in the middle of European rugby battle
While Saru and union owners clash over the financial aspect, South African fans are caught in the middle.
Most have slowly begun to appreciate the value of the Champions Cup, which features the best English and French teams, such as Union Bordeaux Bègles, Toulouse and Bath, in addition to the top URC sides.
It’s a melting pot of talent.
But it’s a catch-22 for unions, who want to compete by fielding their best sides, but will only increase the load on their best if they do.
So they field second or third-string sides, only to lose poorly and be accused of not taking European rugby seriously.
Aside from the Sharks winning the Challenge Cup title in 2023/24, South African teams have only had a handful of play-off appearances.
Not a single South African side has won a Champions Cup last-16 match in the last two seasons.
Many South African fans, unhappy with seeing their teams lose poorly, and not quite as eager to watch unknown sides in the finals, lose interest themselves.
The value of European rugby is therefore lost at both player exposure and spectator-value level.
