Rugby line-up: Shotgun wedding set for 18 November

Monday — Dust-up between Peter de Villiers and Jake White over the non-availability of six Springboks for the Jake White-coached Barbarians side against Australia on December 3 at Twickenham

Tuesday — Luke Watson hearing at SA Rugby in Newlands, with a possible demonstration in the parking lot and a gathering of the top ten rugby nations with the IRB to discuss the management of the Test fixture list in the future

Wednesday — Luke Watson hearing at SA Rugby in Newlands and verdict of bringing the game into disrepute or not, vs the acts of violence in rugby

Thursday — Announcement of Springbok team to play Scotland at Murrayfield on the 15th November.

Friday — Sanzar watershed meeting to determine the future of the Super 14 and management thereof.

The key issue is whether the South African minister of sport has grounds to impose the Sports Amendment Act, which may allow him to intervene in SA Rugby being unable to resolve the dispute for the inclusion of the Eastern Cape into Super 14 rugby through till May 31 2010, and especially for violating their own constitution.

presidents-council-minutes-09-september-2005-johannesburg-international-airport1.doc

This puts in jeopardy SA Rugby’s contracts and agreements with their Sanzar partners, the Australian and New Zealand rugby unions, as well as their broadcast and sponsor agreements.

If there is a damages claim against SA Rugby, from their Sanzar partners and sponsors, and there will be, it will affect their annual rights fees and, worse still for SA Rugby, allow the minister to intervene and appoint his own management team to oversee SA Rugby.

In terms of Clause 19.1 of the Sanzar Broadcasters Agreement with the three Sanzar Unions, “the Licensee may terminate this Agreement if one of the Unions commits a material breach and fails to remedy this within 10 days”, and the damages are limited to one-third of the rights fee paid in a calendar year, with each annual payment done on the 8th January, 8th April, 8th July and 8th October each year commencing 8th January 2006.

The rights fee to be paid in 2008 is about R450-million and has to have the attention of Sanzar. If not they would be failing in their fiduciary duty.

Then, under Clause 19.2, “Liability of Defaulting Union — the Licensee may claim from the defaulting Union [but not the other Unions] all liabilities, losses, damages, costs [including legal costs on a full indemnity basis], charges and expenses incurred as a direct consequence of the breach”. You do not have to be the sharpest tool in the shed to realise that SA Rugby face a potentially damaging apocalyptic situation, especially being the secretariat for Sanzar, that will have them plummeting from bad to worse to disastrous to Armageddon, all because of their inability to resolve disputes.

Never before in the 100-year history of rugby in South Africa have the SA Rugby administration been so frail and vulnerable to a half-a-billion-rand claim in damages and losses. The game of rugby is truly in peril.

One of two announcements could be made.

1. A positive announcement that the Eastern Cape will be playing Super Rugby in a new Super Rugby tournament to start in January 2009 and even play at the new Nelson Mandela Bay stadium in April 2009; or

2. A negative announcement that will jeopardise the very existence of SA Rugby.

We will see, come Friday the 14th November, and then again when SA Rugby meet the minister of sport, on the 18th November, what the future holds.

This November 18 meeting between SA Rugby and the minister of sport will not be just about the Springbok emblem.

Nothing is what it seems and the landscape of rugby may change forever.