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The British & Irish Lions tour saved South African Rugby
By Ian Cameron
SA Rugby would have had to close its doors if were not for the British & Irish Lions tour last year.
Despite no crowds being in attendance for the tour, the union were able to break even in 2021 after 12 months of pandemic chaos.
Today SA Rugby reported a modest profit of 9 million rand (£450k) for 2021.
With the exception of the Springbok Women's Sevens and SA Schools teams, all South African national teams resumed competition in the 2021 season following a year-long hiatus. In 2020, the Springboks, Springbok Women, and age-group teams were all inactive, with the Springbok Sevens squad making only four appearances before the epidemic struck.
The Lions tour gave the union crucial television rights revenue, while giving them a platform to avail of sponsorship opportunities. Broadcast income climbed from R417 million in 2020 to R655 million in 2020, while sponsorship income increased to R329 million when the net income from the Castle Lager Lions Series was added to existing sponsorship contracts for a total of R282m in 2021.
Jurie Roux, CEO of SA Rugby said that if were not for the visit of the Lions, which at one point looked set to be scrapped, the union would have not have been able to keep its doors open.
“The return to play of the Springboks and the delivery of the Castle Lager Lions Series were critical to the survival of the sport in 2021,” said Roux.
“Had we not been able to deliver those events we would have been closing rugby’s doors by year end.
“Having said that, the fact that the pandemic prevented the attendance of supporters at Springbok Tests and at provincial matches means the sport remains in a precarious position.
“Last year (2021) was supposed to be the year that we built up reserves from the windfall of a British & Irish Lions tour; COVID-19 denied us that opportunity. The tour meant we were able to break-even but if we are hit by an event of a similar magnitude, we have zero reserves to weather it.”
Moreover, the return to rugby in 2021 couldn't have come a day later.
Roux explicitly thanked SA Rugby’s broadcast and commercial partners for their continued support.
“It was gratifying to see income return to 2019 levels, but we should have been far ahead of those numbers in 2021 – both from the Lions Series and from increased values in renewals and without reductions that were amoritsed into existing agreements,” he said.
“Our provinces were only allowed to host 2,000 spectators from October, and, like all businesses, we have had the additional cost burden of applying COVID-19 protocols. Financial sustainability remains a pressing concern for the sport.”
President Mark Alexander noted: “This has been an extraordinary year due primarily to Covid, and though the threat to rugby has not diminished, we remain hopeful that the national vaccination programme will allow society and our sport to gradually return to normal.
“While we cannot yet take anything for granted, we will continue to work towards the return to vibrant grassroots activity on and off the pitches in our schools and clubs, and for the return of spectators in the professional game, which will secure the financial underpinning of rugby.”
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Latest Comments
I think you’re putting far too much stock in athletic ability. Totally different positions/roles and what I was getting at their relative performance in rugby is irrelevant, that they are world class athletes wouldn’t have an influence. People who never had what it takes to make it in rugby are key football players. This will be a completely separate and unique journey.
They get in far far easyier than others because of their commercial aspect (next thing there will be a PPP for Youtubers), but I think if they’re not cutting it after year they’d find it just as hard as anybody to get in. I followed Hayne a bit, but part of that was the clubs he chose as well. I doubt I’d be interested in doing it again.
Who Petaia, or LRZ?
Go to commentsYeah of course it can be, it manages a good commerical outcome when 100 million people are following it. I’m saying rugby is no where near even remotely close to getting the payoff you’re talking about, never mind the distinct lack of anyway to implement it.
So you’re going for the dirty approach. I’m not surprised, it’s the only way to easily implement it right now. I wouldn’t see the benefit to doing that myself. A draft, if purely feasible in it’s own right, doesn’t need to provide commercial benefit at all (if it works, that’s all it needs to do, as it no doubt did back in america’s heyday). But without the advantageous backing of sponsors and interest levels, if you pick the wrong method to implement it, like a dirty approach, you do potential harm to it’s acceptance.
The aspect’s of the approach you chose that I don’t like, is that the franchises are the ones spending the money of the U20’s only for there opposition to get first dibs. Personally, I would much prefer an investment into a proper pathway (which I can’t really see SR U20s being at all in anycase). I’m not exactly sure how the draft works in america, but I’m pretty sure it’s something like ‘anyone whishing to be pro has to sign for the draft’, and results in maybe 10 or 20% of those being drafted. The rest (that accumulative 80/90% year on year) do go back into club, pronvincial, or whatever they have there, and remain scouted and options to bring in on immediate notice for cover etc. You yes, you draw on everybody, but what is generating your interest in the drafties in the first plaec?
This is your missing peace. If some come through school and into the acadamies, which would be most, you’ve currently got three years of not seeing those players after they leave school. Those that miss and come in through club, maybe the second year theyre in the draft or whatever, aged 20/21, you’re going to have no clue how they’ve been playing. NPC is a high level, so any that are good enough to play that would already be drafted, but some late bloomers you might see come in NPC but then Sky’s not going to broadcast that anymore. So what’s generating this massive interest you’re talking about, and most importantly, how does it tie in with the other 7 clubs that will be drafting (and providing) players outside of NZ?
Is the next step to pump tens of millions into SRP U20s? That would be a good start for investment in the youth (to get onto international levels of pathway development) in the first place but are fans going to be interested to the same level as what happens in america? Baseball, as mentioned, has the minor leagues, if we use that model it hasn’t to be broad over the whole pacific, because you’re not having one draft right, they all have to play against each other. So here they get drafted young and sent out into a lower level thats more expansive that SR, is there interest in that? There would be for large parts, but how financially viable would it be. Twiggy tried to get a league started and NPC clubs joined. BOP and Taranaki want SR representation, do we have a mix of the biggest clubs and provinces/states make a couple of divisions? I think that is far more likely to fan interest and commerical capabilities than an U20 of the SR teams. Or ofc Uni fits a lot of options. I’ve not really read anything that has tried to nut out the feasability of a draft, it can certainly work if this spitballing is anything to go by, but I think first theres got to be a need for it far above just being a drafting level.
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