Storm clouds hang over SANZAR: Luyt
By Chris Miriams and De Jongh Borchardt
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
A nightmare scenario has emerged for southern hemisphere rugby with a suggestion News Corporation may not renew SANZAR's lucrative broadcasting contract.
That chilling prospect comes as England emerges as the game's new power base and is delivered by Louis Luyt, the man who negotiated the original $NZ555 million 10-year deal in 1995.
Dumped from power in 1998, the former head of the South African Rugby Union is rumoured to have re-emerged as a powerful behind-the-scenes presence.
While many rugby bosses are preparing for a reduced News Ltd contract Luyt is unconvinced SANZAR has the ability to cut any deal.
He believes the three-country collective - South Africa, New Zealand, Australia - does not have an experienced hard-nosed negotiator, is struggling to come up with a unique product to offer News Corp and the degenerating state of South African rugby is devaluing SANZAR's worth to the broadcaster.
He pointed to News Corp relinquishing rights to the Six Nations in Europe to back his claim rugby was not an essential product for the Rupert Murdoch-owned empire.
Underlining the cooling of interest in rugby rights, Australia has no Super 12 on free-to-air TV after Channel 7 dumped the rights.
"One has to be very worried that News Corp doesn't decide to take its money elsewhere, use that money in another sport and get the same or better result," Luyt said.
If Luyt's scenario proves correct the effect on New Zealand rugby will be catastrophic. At risk are competitions, school programmes, women's rugby, academies and player salaries. The worst scenario is professional rugby here is reduced to a paid All Black squad.
Luyt said there was more to the negotiations than what SANZAR will get out of them.
"He (Murdoch) has to accept it (rugby) first. If he doesn't, is there an alternative? Is there someone else in the wings? This is the type of thinking you have to have in these types of negotiations.
"I always put myself on the other side. What would I do if I were News Corp? I would ask 'Can I do better with my money?' Then, unless the people on the other side of the table offer something that is interesting, fresh and hits you between the eyes and makes you say 'Yes this could work', there's trouble."
Luyt is sceptical SANZAR can do that. He scoffed at suggestions of extra Super 12 franchises in Japan and Argentina, a line New Zealand is touting.
Another idea was to add northern hemisphere teams to the Tri-Nations but that could be ruled out by travel fatigue and bad time zones for television audiences.
"There must be a new competition. People seem to think putting new teams in is an answer. It's not. There has to be new thinking or else it is dead in the water. We have to sell our competitions to Europe and make ends meet and he (Murdoch) has to do the same.
"o they (northern hemisphere) watch this (Super 12 and Tri-Nations) any more? I don't think so. We have to devise something fresh. Novel. New. Without that I am very pessimistic."
Because of exchange rate fluctuations the New Zealand Rugby Union is already facing a $NZ20m shortfall if SANZAR is able to secure a contract anywhere near the current level of funding.
Meanwhile, Luyt said the spiralling crisis in South African rugby was devaluing SANZAR.
The game there has been blighted by racial problems, the dumping of Springbok coach Rudolf Straueli and chief executive Rian Oberholzer, and missing money. The latest episode came on Thursday when the professional and amateur codes were merged together amid much rancour.
There was, Luyt said, no end in sight to the continuing dramas.
It meant South African rugby's new president, Brian van Rooyen, 41, could offer nothing more than empty platitudes to the SANZAR board when it met in Wellington on Friday.
"I can't see how he (van Rooyen) can go there (SANZAR board meeting) with any constructive hope," Luyt said.
Luyt can do what he wants, but Nick Mallett will not become the next Springbok coach.
Brian van Rooyen, prsident of the South African Rugby Football Union (SARFU) confirmed on Sunday that Mallett had at no stage been considered as Rudolf Straeuli's successor.
Luyt, in an open letter to the Sunday Independent newspaper, said that Mallett should have been appointed as Bok coach after Straeuli resigned at the end of last year.
The ex-rugby boss decided to withdraw his suppport for the new president because he believed Van Rooyen was acting unconstitutionally by announcing certain changes to the rugby landscape.
Luyt called Van Rooyen "a dictator" and an "embarrassment". He added that South African rugby is currently "hopeless, rudderless and completely lost".
"I am not going to comment on Dr Luyt's remarks. He is entitled to his opinion," said Van Rooyen, who added that he "knew the constitution".
"I wanted to help Brian, I swear I wanted to, and I warned him not to make any promises if he were to be elected to the SARFU presidency," Luyt said on Sunday. "He had never before run a large rugby organisation and he needed help. But I couldn't go along with such decisions, I'm sorry."
Van Rooyen, who attended a SANZAR meeting this weekend in Wellington, New Zealand, said a SANZAR task force is working full steam to prepare a submission to Newscorp on March 2.
"To some extent he has a point, but the three members of SANZAR have pledged one another full support," Van Rooyen said. "Australia and New Zealand have also gone through difficult times and we'll stand together."
The Luyt remarks, made in the week that will see the announcement of the new Bok coach, are only the latest in a couple of rough weeks on the rugby scene of late.
Two of SA Rugby's independent members of the board of directors, Morne du Plessis and Alwyn Martin, resigned last week because they felt that the company's powers had been limited by Van Rooyen.
The KwaZulu Natal Rugby Union also this week expressed its dissatisfaction with Van Rooyen's plans for the new structure of the Super 12 and Currie Cup competitions.
The CEOs of the three other 'big unions' - the Blue Bulls, the Lions and the Western Province - apparently want to join Natal in discussions with Van Rooyen about the practical implications. The fee they are expected to pay for the Super 12 rights is around R3m to 5m.
Free State, traditionally one of the stronger provincial unions, is also in the dark about its future. An "international competition", which may include teams from Fiji, Samoa and Argentina, is on the cards for the Free State and two other provinces.
The far-reaching changes announced by the Souith African Rugby Footbal Union (SARFU) last week, will be ratified at a special general meeting to be held soon.
This was announced by SARFU president Brian van Rooyen after returning from Wellington, New Zealand, on Sunday, where he attended a SANZAR meeting.
"A task team, consisting of Barend van Graan, Brian van Zyl, Louis du Plessis and Johan Prinsloo, handed in a submission at our bosberaad last weekend," Van Rooyen said.
"They proposed that the Super 12 be awarded to the four metropolitan unions and that the Currie Cup competition be played on the basis of strenth versus strength.
"Obviously, the smaller unions also had access to these proposals and we decided to let all 14 unions play in the competition. The details will be worked out later," Van Rooyen said.
According to the SARFU president, the proposals were considered by a full meeting of the union's exeutive committee.
The committee gave the mandate for a special general meeting, at which the SARFU constitution is expected to be ratified. The meeting has to be held within 21 days.
"I accept full responsibility for what happens. But I don't take the decisions. I simply lead the 14 presidents," Van Rooyen said.
"At the meeting of the executive committee, I asked each of the provincial presidents whether he was satisfied with the decisions and all of them agreed."
"Harold Verster of Free State did have reservations, but it was decided that the interests of all would be taken care of. "At the SANZAR meeting, we recommended that South Africa be awarded a fifth Super 12 team. If that does not happen, we asked that an international competition be held at the same time as the Super 12.
"The task force found that roughly 70 per cent of South African rugby players are black, and I have to see to it that these players, most of them from Border and Eastern Province, are given the opportunity to play at a higher level."
Van Rooyen expressed his disappointment that the Sharks had not ensured that a sufficient number of Border and Eastern Province players were incorporated into their squad.
"Rugby belongs to all the people in KwaZulu-Natal and the rest of the region. I have the right to ensure the continued existence of Border and Eastern Province," Van Rooyen said.
The Sunday Star-Times, New Zealand and Beeld, South Africa
This story was found at:
http://rugbyheaven.smh.com.au/articles/2004/02/09/1076175103200.html
