CAPE TOWN – Mark Alexander was on Friday re-elected as the president of SA Rugby at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Cape Town.
Alexander took over the role in 2016 after Oregan Hoskins stepped down after a decade at the top.
There were two candidates for SA Rugby's top job - with Leopards Rugby Union president Advocate Andre May Alexander's only opposition.
Francois Davids also retained his position as deputy president of SA Rugby, beating Dr Jan Marais – who was the SA Rugby chairman before the organisation restructured in 2011 - in the two-horse race.
Lindsay Mould from the Free State and Pumas boss Hein Mentz were voted into the two vacant SA Rugby Executive Council positions.
They defeated Vivian Lottering (incumbent – Valke), Schalk Liebenberg (KZN), Arthob Petersen (Boland), JJ van der Mescht (Blue Bulls) and Thelo Wakefield (WP) in the process.
Alexander thanked the General Council for their vote of confidence and said that he believed that continuity was good for the union.
“We are all very aware of the tough period that South African rugby has been through since 2016 when we endured what we refer to as a perfect storm, but I believe we have turned the corner.
“We embarked on a turnaround strategy to get our organisation back on track and we now have some continuity to deliver that strategy. We knew from the onset that this would not be a quick-fix, but a committed two and a half year strategic process.
“But people judge us only on the performance of the Springbok team – we know that and we accept that. I believe that we are going in the right direction under the auspices of our new director of rugby, Rassie Erasmus, and that we will see the results on the field in due course.”
@Wynona_Louw
IOL Sport