SA Rugby ambushed with the culling of the Springbok

One sometimes has to wonder, open mouthed, at the myopia of people within rugby administration and their inability to recognise how to be relevant in modern day society in South Africa and the rest of the world, especially when the game of rugby exposes the raw nerves and synapses of the nation.

The obsessive, compulsive folly of a few will decimate the branding and value of their flagship icon, the Springbok, and the business of SA Rugby, because, quite simply, they are unable to recognise trends and strategically position themselves for the future.

How can one possibly talk Rugby World Cups of 2011, 2015 and 2019, when so much needs to be over hauled and addressed to make rugby normal in South Africa. Do not think for a moment my position is about black or white; it is not. It is about right and wrong.

Conversely, Butana Komphela recognises the potent cauldron of South Africa’s passion — for rugby, its players and supporters — that fuels its fans and is using the Springbok and the symbol as the lightning rod to strike fear into the inner sanctum of a white market segment, in an attempt to exorcise racism and bigotry from rugby and sport. It is not a particularly sophisticated approach, but Komphela’s patience has run out and he has become an agent of change as South African rugby administration has resisted change at incredible cost to itself and has now done so, at its own peril.

Some ten years ago and two years after the 1995 Rugby World Cup, with the change and emergence of the new South Africa, the airline of South Africa, known as SAA or SAL, with the orange, white and blue lines around the equator of each aircraft emblazoned with the Flying Springbok, had to make itself relevant to the new South Africa.

Nelson Mandela was South Africa’s icon president and had pulled off the most amazing and spectacular bridge building coup of South Africans by wearing the No.6 Springbok jersey at the 1995 Rugby World Cup and unleashed South Africans’ passion for their country and sport rugby. What he did was defuse a social time bomb that would have had cataclysmic effects on the country.

At the time, I was approached in New York of all places, to establish a team to bid against 19 other international and national corporate identity companies, in strategically repositioning the airline of South Africa for the future. I did this by taking the best indigenous marketing talent in South Africa and merging this with the best international talent in the airline industry and reached down into the heart and soul of the new South Africa to discover the DNA of what drives South Africans — and won the bid.

Thus was born the metamorphosis of the airline of the old South Africa, to the Flag Carrier of the New South Africa, that today favourably competes right up there with British Airways, Lufthansa, Cathay and Singapore — the world’s best airlines.

We thoroughly researched, the relevance of South Africa’s Fauna (Springbok and Big Five), Flora (Disa & Protea), the new National flag and the icon most synonymous with Africa, the Sun.

In a national competition to determine the sentiment of South Africans from all walks of life, run in two national English and Afrikaans newspapers, we called for proposed designs. Incredibly 98% of the submissions embraced elements of, or all of the South African national flag. It was for good reason, as the national flag became the symbol of unity, harmony, vibrancy and patriotism amongst South Africans. Thus was born the “Horizon Mark” a speed version of the national flag with the sun, that today Flies the Spirit of Our Nation to the World.

Interestingly, the Call Sign for South African Airways at all of its destinations and airports and air traffic control towers around the world is “Springbok“.

Similarly, SA Rugby is faced with having to reinvent itself and making rugby a game for all South Africans.
Incredibly, SA Rugby had such a moment when they introduced a new rugby franchise into the Eastern Cape on June 8 2005 and barely six months later, people within SA Rugby aborted this project so horribly and painfully, they are today facing the grotesque consequences and financial liabilities of their actions and still it is not yet over and worse is yet to come, if no action is taken.

It could have been the salvation of rugby had SA Rugby continued in an honourable and committed fashion in taking the game to the people. Instead it has cost SA Rugby R27,100,000.00 (R5.6m in funding + R8m in legal fees + R13.5m in an ill fated buy out of 50% of the SEC rugby unions) just to keep the Eastern Cape out of Super Rugby, for the preservation and exclusivity of the Big Five. This is funding that could have gone into the game. Instead, this and tens of millions of rand have been sucked out of the SA Rugby treasury to the detriment of all 14 unions.

So do not condemn Komphela for his tirade. The people that have put SA Rugby in a downward spiral and in this incredibly vulnerable situation, stripping out SA Rugby’s cash reserves, are two of SA Rugby’s advisors, the Bulls, Sharks, Lions, Cheetahs and the Stormers. They are the ones to blame for taking SA Rugby down this road and exposing the organisation and its 14 unions to enormous crippling liabilities.

But even more alarmingly, you have to realise that SA Rugby is still not cured and will continue to get sicker and sicker and become terminally ill, if it does not take drastic action and remedy this situation, immediately. This situation did not happen overnight, nor suddenly occur. As in any event, it has been a gradual and persistent process of erosion, violation of SA Rugby’s own Constitution, that has brought SA Rugby to the brink of disaster.

Sports Portfolio Committee chairman Butana Komphela told delegates at a National Sports Conference in Durban on Thursday, that “the Springbok divides us. We have a responsibility to unite our country on one national emblem. Minister, I want you to observe the arrogance of white people on the Springbok emblem,” he said.

Komphela said that there could be “no negotiation” on the Springbok emblem. When the floor was opened to the delegates, many speakers called for a resolution removing the Springbok emblem to be passed as soon as possible.

What Komphela was screaming out was not hate speech, but that he and people like him have been hurt, humiliated and insulted by non action. The simple reason for this outburst (and there have been many warning signs), is that the Springbok and rugby in South Africa was not shared by all and has caused and continues to cause diabolical pain and suffering of humiliation. I have seen it first hand and been shamed and frustrated at how my fellow South Africans have wrongly treated their fellow rugby playing brethren.

My view is that Danie Craven’s statement years ago that “no blackman will ever play for the Springboks”, is at the root of this furore and the longer this statement remains unanswered, with no apology, the greater the divide in the game and the country will be about the Springbok. It make no sense to leave this to fester, as it will erupt time and again with dire consequences.

But then to Craven’s credit in 1988, after this statement, it was he who reached out to the ANC and met them in Zimbabwe to discuss transforming the administrative body and the unified South African Rugby Football Union – SARFU – was formed in 1992.

So why is it so hard to be consultative in October 2008? Just do it.

Rugby is a game of honour, courage and character amongst team members, with respect shown for the opposition, whether they win or lose. It is a noble game and one of immense passion and pride. The SA Rugby Constitution is supposed to protect and uphold these ideals and the people at SA Rugby and within the Presidents Council, are supposed to be the custodians of the Constitution.

The solution for SA Rugby, to make rugby great in South Africa and SA Rugby strong, is not through open warfare, but by being proactive and taking immediate curative steps with the implementation of a bold formula to sweep up all rugby loving supporters, to heal these deep divisions within rugby in our country.

This is not about the Springbok. This is about being a good, honourable and fair South African. Proud to be South African and Proud to play Rugby for South Africa and for South Africans.

Will SA Rugby be able to step forward, rise to this challenge and launch an intervention to sort this out?

There is a new leadership in place at SA Rugby that can halt this siege on rugby in South Africa with widespread solutions and implementation of these solutions, not in months, but in days.

The responsibility for salvaging rugby and the dignity of the sport, is now firmly theirs. Can they do it?