Heated debate over SA Rugby's R21m profit allocati

There was heated debate during an SA Rugby meeting on Friday, with union heads at loggerheads over the allocation of SA Rugby's large profit.

Afrikaans newspaper Rapport reported on Sunday that matters got so intense that Sharks CEO Eduard Coetzee even threatened to leave the online meeting.

The report states that SA Rugby reported a R21 million profit for the year, however the four top franchises - Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers - suffered a combined loss of approximately R200 million due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The smaller unions, reportedly led by Griffons president Randall September, wanted the money to be divided solely between the non-franchise unions (Boland, EP, SWD, Valke, Griffons, Border and Leopards) and the domestic franchises (Cheetahs, Griquas and Pumas).

Coetzee and Bulls president Willem Strauss did not support this suggestion, with the Sharks boss apparently threatening to leave the meeting to consult with Sharks shareholders.

The proposal put on the table by SA Rugby was that the four big franchises should each receive an additional R3.064 million for TV rights for the year (they had already received R31.358 million each), while the domestic franchises would receive an additional R1.672 million and the non-franchises R458 000.

The domestic franchises already received (R12.839 million each) and the non-franchises (R8.209 million each).

Eventually a decision was made and SA Rugby president Mark Alexander said the division would take place according to SA Rugby's formula: 47% of the R21 million will be paid to the international franchises, 19% to the domestic franchises, 12% to the non-franchises and 2% to the Limpopo Blue Bulls.