David Shapshak
The South African Rugby Football Union (Sarfu) can retain the Springbok emblem, but it will have little significance if the National Sports Council revokes Sarfu’s national representation, says council president Mluleki George.
“They can use it if they want, but not on behalf of South Africa. It can only be a national emblem if it is recognised through the National Sports Council,” George says. “I don’t know why they keep raising this stupid issue.”
George says the attention given to the Springbok emblem’s ownership belies the sports council’s key concern: that Sarfu transform itself, beginning with the resignation of its president, Louis Luyt, and its executive by April 11.
Failing this, the council has threatened to withdraw Sarfu’s right to select the national squad and remove the Springbok as rugby’s symbol. Sarfu representative Anthony MacKaiser says the symbol belongs to the union, even though both sports bodies registered the symbol with the Department of Trade and Industry.
The sports council gave Sarfu a written agreement that the emblem would be transferred to the union, and received a royalty cheque of R100E000 from Sarfu last Friday, he says.
This latest stand-off was triggered by Sarfu subpoenaing President Nelson Mandela to testify in the Pretoria High Court two weeks ago over his decision to appoint the Browde commission of inquiry into Sarfu’s activities -a move widely seen as calculated to humiliate Mandela.
George, formerly Sarfu’s vice-president, said the Australian Rugby Union had contacted the sports council to express concerns that their viewing and sponsorship contracts may be affected by the Sarfu impasse. “This is a South African problem, we are not bound by their contracts,” he says.
But Sarfu sold the broadcasting rights to all its rugby matches to Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation and South African viewing rights were bought by M-Net’s Supersport. The sports council’s threats to suspend Sarfu may have an impact on these multi-million-rand contracts.
The withdrawal of national representation could have serious implications for South African rugby, with Test matches scheduled against Ireland and Wales for the middle of this year, as well as Tri-Nations games against New Zealand and Australia. South Africa will also defend its Rugby World Cup title in Wales next year.