The South African URC participants are the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers. Should there be changes to who gets a seat at the top table?
We ran a poll on social media and the result was 68% in favour of a change, with the Lions having to face the Cheetahs in a playoff series.
But is it as easy as that?
South African URC participants’ discussion
This is always a difficult discussion. There is rightfully a lot of emotion when the Cheetahs are involved. This is due to the continuous pipeline of quality players they have provided for South African rugby. Their structures to develop youth talent have always been strong, based on the schools’ rugby powerhouse Grey College and their senior age-group teams. Would the Cheetahs potentially winning a playoff series and participating in the URC change anything?
We take a look at what should be considered before making a decision.
The financial impact
In South Africa, there is no escaping the chat about financial resources. The South African Rand is no match for the Euro or Pound. The Cheetahs have less financial resources than the current big four. We see no way for them to spread their current resources further to be able to build a squad that can be consistently competitive in the URC, European Champions or Challenge Cup and still field a competitive team in the Currie Cup. Who is putting up the cash and how much is on the table?
A red flag for all should be what is unfolding in the Premiership. The folding of the professional arms of the Worcester Warriors, Wasps and London Irish has highlighted the fact that no team is immune to escalating costs, especially when competing for players’ signatures to keep their squad competitive.
What can also not be forgotten in this conversation is the sponsors who make it all possible. Sponsors with big budgets want certainty and continuity. If they cannot be assured of that, the three to five-year deals won’t happen. Short-term sponsorships are not conducive to the long-term planning that is needed to build a competitive squad.
Building a competitive squad
As mentioned above, building a competitive squad takes years of planning. Without the certainty of significant long-term sponsorship, that becomes a challenge. Players cannot be expected to sign long-term contracts if there is no certainty that the financial obligations can be fulfilled.
The next question that raises its head is one of playing resources. Where do the players come from? Let’s consider the team currently at the bottom of the South African URC participants Shield, the Lions. With more financial resources than the Cheetahs, they are barely keeping pace with their player losses and signing new players to replace them. They do still have a fairly young squad nurtured from the age group level, but no big-name stars. There are no marquee players lining up to join their ranks. How will the Cheetahs do better without cash in hand? The Cheetahs are already struggling to retain their stars. The business of rugby remains heavily stacked against the Cheetahs. Or any other team with ambitions to rise above the Currie Cup.
There was significant support for the Cats concept used in Super Rugby. A combined squad to take on the might of regional rugby. It was a failure in Super Rugby for a few reasons. Melding two teams together, with two different cultures, identities, sponsorships and playing styles didn’t work back then and there is no evidence that it would be any different when trying to solve the South African URC participants conundrum. Teams work as a unit for the duration of a competition, with rarely more than a day or two a week at best out of camp. In the Cats days, the Cheetahs players found themselves away from home for months at a stretch. A rare home game in Bloemfontein would allow them a day to catch up with their families.
Promotion via the Currie Cup
There is also a lot of sentiment to arrange a promotion-relegation series between the winner of the Currie Cup and the lowest-placed of the South African URC participants. There is a clear difference in quality between the Currie Cup and the URC competitions. You can change the name from Cheetahs to Pumas in the discussion above and have the same result. It is simply not practical in terms of the available financial and player resources. If this was to become a South African peculiarity, would the Currie Cup champions be strong enough to defeat a battle-hardened URC team? Even a struggling one?
Who makes the final decision?
Fans and pundits can make all the suggestions they can think of. Some will be very valid. Others will be based on emotion or perceived fairness. The conversation can carry on forever, but the reality is that the decision has already been made. Last Word on Sports Ryan Jordan approached SA Rugby and posed the question. Who makes the decision regarding the South African URC participants?
The decision was made back in September 2020 at a Special General Meeting of SA Rugby. It was 13 out of the 14 provincial unions who voted that the four former Super Rugby teams would be put forward as the URC entrants. The 14th union, Border, had their voting rights suspended at the time. This is the irony of the entire situation. Although fans, pundits, armchair critics and even some Currie Cup coaches are putting a case forward for their team, it was the President of those very teams who had a direct influence over deciding who the South African URC participants would be. SA Rugby interim CEO went on record in an interview with Sport24, not ruling out potential future opportunities for Currie Cup teams but also highlighting the fact that there has to be a solid and viable business plan in place as well as a viable competition for them to compete in that can be sold to rugby fans and broadcasters. Where is that competition, if it exists at all?
The reality that this brings to rugby in South Africa is that there is a three-tier system starting to become entrenched. The Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers will be the elite-level teams. The second level of teams will be the Cheetahs, Griquas and possibly the Griffons if they can build on their first season in the Premier Division of the Currie Cup. The third tier would consist of the Cavaliers, Eagles, Valke, Eastern Province, Border and Leopards.
Like it or not, that is the business that is South African rugby.
Main Photo credit: Free State Cheetahs
