RUGBY’S national leadership stinks. It did a year ago but the stench is now at its most foul. Whatever the South African success in Super Rugby in its expanded 18-team format, it won’t compensate or negate the rot in the game’s national leadership.
The leadership — be it Oregan Hoskins, who parades as the president, or Jurie Roux, who functions as the boss of the Springboks and all things national — is divided as every rotten bit starts getting exposed publicly.
Hoskins has managed to duck and dive every issue to do with transformation since 2007 when he promised a Springbok team would not go to a World Cup with transformation being an issue.
When there was minimal change in 2011 Hoskins predictably played the patriotism card in urging the people and those who report on the game to unconditionally get behind the Springboks’ World Cup campaign. Again transformation was secondary to the propaganda-fuelled hysteria that the Boks would win the 2011 World Cup. The international season had been a disaster and the Boks lost in the quarterfinals.
Hoskins, in driving transformation, was silent for four years from 2011 to last year. The leadership short-term con job in trying to portray bigger black numbers in 2015 was to include Rudi Paige as the third scrumhalf.
Although Paige had not played a Test in Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer’s four-year tenure, his selection was hailed as a victory for transformation.
It was a farce, as was the Springboks’ World Cup campaign. The Boks lost to Japan in the pool stages and were beaten in the semifinals.
Paige played fewer than 20 minutes in the tournament as Meyer proved incapable of understanding the transformation dynamics within the squad.
South African Rugby Union’s (Saru’s) leadership (read Roux) had already in principle reappointed Meyer before the start of the 2015 season. It proved a costly mistake because Meyer resigned with a payout that was the result of misguided and arrogant decisions based on the illusion the Boks would win the World Cup and the Rugby Championship.
The Rugby Championship, played over a single round last year, favoured the Boks. They would host Argentina and the All Blacks and the only away game was in Australia. The arrogance, which had a stink to it the equal of the rotting head of the leadership, refused to entertain onfield realities.
The Bok didn’t win a single Test in the Rugby Championship, an extension of the inept Super Rugby regional performances when no team were placed in the top six.
Now Roux is under investigation for alleged misappropriation off funds as head of Stellenbosch University Rugby Club.
Hoskins is said to want Roux out, who in turn hasn’t been too fazed by the powder puff punches of a president who has only been noticeable because of his absence on any relevant issue in rugby.
The 14 elected provincial presidents are divided. When there is no unity there can never be strength.
Sponsors have pulled out, the Springbok coaching successor to Meyer has not been appointed because agendas are at play. The post wasn’t advertised after 2007 World Cup-winning coach Jake White indicated he would apply for a second stint. Hoskins despises White, and his ego and distaste for White triumphed over transparency.
The leadership, reminiscent of those dark days of apartheid rule, felt no obligation to answer for its actions.
None felt the need to be accountable to the public, over the Boks, transformation, the position of the Southern Kings or the loss of leading sponsors.
There was also no fronting for the failed 2015 international season.
Now, with the rot at its extreme, it is all falling apart and each day brings another revelation of Roux and Hoskins being a law unto themselves, even if not in sync with each other’s individual agendas.
And, of course, there’s this weekend’s start to Super Rugby, a tournament that diminishes in appeal with each team expansion from the original Super 12. The leadership, with Hoskins at the forefront, agreed to stay with Super Rugby when every rational argument suggested SA would benefit more when aligned to tournament structures in the northern hemisphere.
The little cheer in our rugby will come with the domestic derbies in the first month but that will be short term.
What shouldn’t be short term is the haste in which Hoskins, Roux and the leadership should be chased from the offices of Saru.
• Read Keohane on www.sarugbymag.co.za and follow him on twitter.com/mark_keohane
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