Wake up call for Saru

File Picture: Several major sponsors signalled they would be withdrawing their sponsorship of the Springboks because of the slow pace of transformation.

File Picture: Several major sponsors signalled they would be withdrawing their sponsorship of the Springboks because of the slow pace of transformation.

Published Nov 25, 2015

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South African Rugby Union (Saru) vice-president Mark Alexander has warned the sport needs a “wake-up call”, after several major sponsors signalled they would be withdrawing their sponsorship of the Springboks because of the slow pace of transformation.

Reports over the weekend confirmed that Absa would be withdrawing their sponsorship after having been the main financial supporter of national teams and the Currie Cup for the past eight years.

“I think it is a wake-up call for everybody. If we want to survive as a sport in this country we need to target the majority of the people. There are many sporting codes in the country and if we want to keep it attractive we need to appeal to the majority of the population and that is what we are trying to achieve,” Alexander said yesterday at the launch of the Saru academy system in Sandton.

Moreover, Absa’s withdrawal from the negotiating table at such an advanced stage allegedly stems from their takeover by Barclays who apparently wanted to start their stint in South Africa on a clean slate.

Absa had already confirmed the withdrawal of their 26-year-old sponsorship of the Currie Cup, the national Sevens team and the national women’s team but this year confirmed their intention of keeping the Springboks, the PSL and the Cape Epic as their major properties.

Steinhoff International is said to be replacing Absa as the main sponsor of the Currie Cup, while Unilever could also take over the shirt sponsor of the national team.

Beyond Absa, the Boks will also lose vehicle sponsor BMW, who earlier this year indicated to Saru that they will not be renewing their sponsorship. They are likely to be replaced by VW or Mercedes.

In the wake of the sponsorship shake-up at Saru, including the departure of general manager for marketing Andy Marinos who will take up the post as CEO of Sanzar, global electronic giant Samsung will also cut down on their sponsorship.

Alexander said this was the perfect opportunity for Saru to have a closer look at themselves from grassroots level to the national team.

The withdrawal by major sponsors could further diminish Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer’s chances of retaining his job and could see Saru being forced to hire a new national coach.

While Alexander was scathing of Saru’s affiliates and their stubborn stance to change, he did say that sponsors leaving the organisation wouldn’t help them in achieving their transformation plan.

“The Absa thing is a process that is under way and I don’t want to comment on it. It would be unethical for me to talk about a process like that. If companies and people are serious about transformation let’s look at how we can do this together. I am appealing to corporate South Africa to back us so that we can deliver on our mandates. Unfortunately, for rugby we’ve got our shop window which is the Springboks and we don’t look everywhere else. Over the last 20 years we tried to do the 'Big Bang' approach, but it never worked. We have a more focused programme to deliver on our mandates and by corporate SA withdrawing from rugby we can’t do it on our own. We are in this thing together and we need corporates to back us,”Alexander concluded. - The Star

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