South African RL News

[deal.with.it]

The first step is for RL to receive membership of Sport Accord. This is what Danny K is doing. It's a very long process but getting close.
This will then mean different countries (Sth Africa, Russia, Morocco etc) must recognise RL, otherwise the RLIF & RLEF can go to the International Court of Justice.

 

[Evil Homer]

The first step is for RL to receive membership of Sport Accord. This is what Danny K is doing. It's a very long process but getting close.
This will then mean different countries (Sth Africa, Russia, Morocco etc) must recognise RL, otherwise the RLIF & RLEF can go to the International Court of Justice.

Ridiculous that we didn't already have that TBH, WTF has RL been doing for the last century?

 

[deal.with.it]

well it hasn't really been a world sport until the last 10 years.

 

[Bronco Rob]

More good development work being done in South Africa, glad to see they are targeting the black communities with Rugby League.

http://www.nospam18.com/rlp-nations...hile-sarl-name-squad-for-community-lions-tour

 

[The Partisan]

Whilst certainly good - it isn't new.

Widnesian Dave Southern was working with the townships when i visited him in South Africa back in the mid 90's. Have a great memory of helping out at a training session for Mini League in Alexandria - only hours after i had touched down from Australia.

Unfortunately i think egos and clashing ideologies (and personalities !)dismantled a lot of his good work.

 

[miguel de cervantes]

http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/arti...ascocs-bizarre-refusal-to-budge/#.VyZbiHxb_GK

 

[Knownothing]

Time to go poaching South African union players for the NRL.

Enough so they can string together a competitive test side and weaken the Springboks.

They can, and do, earn more money playing in Europe. And the best still play for the Bokke.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/arti...ascocs-bizarre-refusal-to-budge/#.VyZbiHxb_GK

There's no mystery. It's the same old shit with union's fingerprints all over it.

 

[Foreign Legion]

http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/arti...ascocs-bizarre-refusal-to-budge/#.VyZbiHxb_GK
Rugby League, the 13-man jamboree which prides itself on speed and power and which is immensely popular in Australia, New Zealand and England, is struggling to find an identity in South Africa because of Sascoc’s refusal to accept the sport as something different to rugby union, the traditional 15-man code. By ANTOINETTE MULLER.

To understand the bizarre and baffling situation the South African Rugby League finds itself in, you must first understand its history in this country. Back in the 1960s, a rag-tag group of South Africans travelled to Australia to represent the country in rugby league. Back then, league was one of the first sports that had started to professionalise in England and pay players for their services.

Upon their return, players knew that if they were to ever play league again, they would be banned from playing union. Even kids at school level who were interested in the sport were told that they would not be allowed to play union should they sign up for league.

And so, rugby league was effectively banned. Even back then, this was so typical of rugby’s elitism and a small-mindedness which persists to this day and which is quite evident in the struggles of the South African Rugby League (SARL) trying to be recognised by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc).

For the uninitiated, rugby league is a 13-man sport that’s like rugby, but not quite. The rules are somewhat different and some call it the most physically demanding of all forms of rugby. Play is brisk and there is little time wasted on contesting possession. Think of it as Sevens on steroids. While it has the pace and the flair of sevens, it also carries on for a full 80 minutes.

Since returning to the South African sporting fray in 1994, South African rugby league has struggled to find its identity in the South African sporting landscape. While the governing body has had its administrative ups and downs in the last few years, at the heart of its struggle is Sascoc’s refusal to recognise the sport as a federation separate to rugby union.

Despite rugby union and rugby league being governed by different bodies internationally, they refuse to budge in South Africa. At the heart of the issue is the Sascoc constitution which dictates the recognition of members. Article 8.1.6 says: “Sascoc does not recognise more than one National Sport Federation of a similar or same sport type.”

Thus Sascoc is saying that rugby league is not currently considered a distinct sport and that, despite it being governed by a different international body, it cannot get independent recognition.

But here is the contradiction: Article 8.1.2 of Sascoc’s constitution says members of “national sports federations affiliated to other major International Federations governing sports presently not included in the programme of the Olympic Games” can also be recognised. Since Rugby League is not an Olympic sport and SARL is affiliated to the Rugby League International Federation, surely it should be recognised independently?

It’s a challenge that has been hindering the sport’s progress for many years and Kobus Botha, the current SARL president, is all too familiar with the battle.

“We’ve had negotiations at all levels. We’ve had discussions with Tubby Reddy (Sascoc), Jurie Roux and Oregan Hoskins (both Saru) on numerous occasions,” he tells the Daily Maverick.

“Sascoc insist that we should fall under Saru which would essentially mean that they would determine what we can and can’t do and which funding we can receive. We even have letters from the IRB stating clearly that we are different, but they cannot make room for us,” he adds.

It is a baffling situation made even more so by the fact that Sascoc seem to contradict themselves in a way. For example, Sascoc recognises ice hockey and hockey separately. Karate and Judo are both recognised separately as members despite both being considered “martial arts” – which is also recognised separately. Even sheep sheering is recognised as a federation.

SARL is a registered sporting association in the country and has support from the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF). At one stage during the ongoing saga, Roux even sent a letter detailing that union and league are two different things, but Sascoc refused to budge. Through all of this, the Department of Sport and Recreation shrug their shoulders saying they cannot give Sascoc any instruction, they can only advise them on a number of aspects.

For SARL, this is an immense challenge and it stops the sport’s development dead in its tracks. Currently, because it is not recognised by Sascoc, SARL cannot receive financial assistance from the government. It can’t be played in schools and corporate support and sponsorship is even harder to come by. Technically, the caps the players earn when playing internationally don’t even count since Sascoc is responsible for awarding national colours to athletes. Those representing South Africa at all events also have to fund these trips themselves. Event rips to World Cups – at junior and senior level – are largely paid out of the pockets of those called up to play. The organisation endorses the applications for bidding and hosting of international events, providing that specific criteria are all met.

Last year, SARL was willing to give up the fight for independent recognition and be absorbed by Saru. While far from ideal, it seemed the only way to go forward.

“We were pushed into that hole because of the refusal to be recognised independently, but to grow the sport, we had no other choice,” Botha says.

Saru and SARL agreed that the two sports would be overseen by one committee while having separate constitutions and created a memorandum of understanding which had to be approved by a two-thirds majority at Saru’s annual general meeting. Botha says Roux had told Botha he was confident of the memorandum of understanding passing, but developments hit another snag.

SARL is not just fighting a battle for independent recognition, but an ongoing court case, with a group of former SARL officials claiming they are actually the recognised governing body of the sport in South Africa also causing a hindrance. This rebel body is not registered or recognised by the RLIF, but Botha says that Roux felt that the vote on the memorandum of understanding could not progress until the court case was settled.

All things considered, it seemed a rather convenient excuse because SARL seems to be fighting against the self-interest and self-preservation of the powers that be in rugby union. Botha says that at one stage during the many years of negotiations – now dragging on for over five years – Hoskins had told SARL that the “financial cake is only so big”. The men in charge of Saru and Sascoc are, of course, big rugby union men and protecting the code is to their financial benefit.

“They see us as a threat. We are the sleeping giants of sport. I think people are getting a bit tired of Rugby Union. So imagine a new sport arrives that’s more exciting than union, people will be intrigued,” Botha says.

He’s not wrong. The 2013 Rugby League World Cup, held in the UK, smashed all records, drawing an aggregate crowd of 458,463 with 74,468 of those being international visitors. There were eight sell-outs and eight stadium record crowds for rugby league matches. Tournament director Nigel Wood confirmed profits of at least £3.7-million with the towns and city that hosted the matches pocketing a pretty penny.

This kind of money can greatly benefit not only the sport of rugby league in South Africa, but also boost the tourism industry. South Africa is already a tourist favourite and becomes even more so when there is an international sporting event for fans to flock to. But without Sascoc’s endorsement, being awarded a World Cup is difficult.

But the fight is not confined to the boardrooms. Union’s elitism has spilled out onto the playing fields too. SARL is recognised by sports councils in both Gauteng and the Western Cape, but Botha says the players have often run into trouble when trying to practise or play.

“We are often bullied by union clubs where we are told that we cannot play here or there because it’s their turf, but these are municipal fields. Saru has even gone so far as to write a letter to Gauteng’s sport’s council telling them they cannot support us,” Botha says.

“Sascoc and Saru have killed us at point blank range,” Botha adds.

A fledgling rugby league in South Africa can only be a good thing for sport. Just last week Saru president Oregan Hoskins bemoaned the overload of professionals in the country’s professional rugby union franchises. A fully functional league system could provide more playing opportunities for professional rugby players as it is not unheard of for players to switch between the two – Sonny Bill Williams being the most famous example of a player who has done so successfully. That Saru and Sascoc are unable to see its value because of its self-interest is a crying shame.*DM

 

[RoosTah]

South Africa again showing what a backward joke of a country they are.

 

[Foreign Legion]

Recently an article by journalist Antoinette Muller was brought to my attention in which she detailed the plight of rugby league and the difficulty it is having gaining recognition by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASOC).
It’s a fascinating piece which highlights just how much trouble rugby league has had in South Africa getting the most basic of acceptance at an institutional level.
Muller explains SASOC effectively acts as a conduit between government and major sporting bodies to organise and coordinate funding and also collaborate and prepare for major events like the Olympics. Supposedly their upper management is populated by some fairly prominent former SARU types who have steadfastly refused to recognise rugby league as being distinct from rugby union.
SASOC recognition turns out to be pretty important, as without it a sporting body isn’t eligible for financial assistance from the government, has difficulty using public facilities and can’t be played in the school system. In addition to that, not having recognition also makes corporate support hard to come by.
According to Muller, the crux of the issue is that SASOC refuses to accept rugby league is sufficiently different to rugby union to warrant having its own recognition. This is apparently because, in the SASOC constitution, they explicitly state they will “not recognise more than one National Sport Federation of a similar or same sport type.”
The problem is they apparently routinely do, with sports like field and ice hockey granted separate recognition despite the sports having a similar number of differentiating factors as league and union.
Apparently the South African Rugby League (SARL) have previously even gone as far as requesting the IRB present SASOC with a letter confirming the two sports are, in fact, very different, and are governed by different institutions both internationally and within countries where the two sports are present.
This has had little effect though, with SASOC continuing to insist that the SARL cannot be considered a sport in its own right.
Muller suggests this is because the head honchos at the SARU and SASOC see rugby league as some sort of threat to the position of rugby union in South Africa; that if they were to give South Africans the access and opportunity to play and watch rugby league, they’d fundamentally weaken South African rugby.
As an Australian who follows both Rugby codes equally and knows his fair share of South Africans, I have to say that, while the evidence Muller presents certainly indicates such fears may exist, I still find it hard to believe.
Rugby union is such an institutional and cultural behemoth in South Africa that the idea it will suddenly lose swathes of support and potential players to rugby league just seems ludicrous.
What do the South Africans who frequent this board think? Why the petty-minded intransigence from SASOC?
Is rugby in South Africa truly so weak and insecure that they can’t risk losing an inch to rugby league?



http://www.theroar.com.au/2016/05/02/south-africa-afraid-rugby-league/

 

[miguel de cervantes]

These letters that the IRB and some rugby unions send out to relavent authorities in South Africa, the UAE, Morocco etc. often seem to be rather impotent. Which is very convenient, because they can be publically seen as doing something about the injustice whilst knowing full well that their actions are useless against biaised and pseudo-independant hierarchies.

The union network lives on. It's very prevalent in France, less common if mostly irradicated in Australia. Union players are recruted to the town's club subsequently to find themselves in cushy positions within local council administration, naturally often in sports administration - it is part of their pay package. These ex-players go on to become the decision makers concerning sports funding and ground allocation assuring the local rugby club get's a very nice piece of the public resources pie.

It's a form of soft corruption and what is happening in South Africa is just this on a larger scale.

SportsAccord, which has curiously, in part been held up by another of the IRB's letters, should, in principal, put a stop to this nonsense.

 

[Knownothing]

These letters that the IRB and some rugby unions send out to relavent authorities in South Africa, the UAE, Morocco etc. often seem to be rather impotent. Which is very convenient, because they can be publically seen as doing something about the injustice whilst knowing full well that their actions are useless against biaised and pseudo-independant hierarchies.
.

What exactly do you want the IRB to do?

 

[taipan]

Posted a nice little comment on the union tab at the Roar,giving a decent spray.Should stir the natives there.

 

[Foreign Legion]

If the SARU had a half a brain they could market league to the black /coloured community (more revenue) and pick the best ones for rugby... but NO instead they want to destroy it

 

[Knownothing]

If the SARU had a half a brain they could market league to the black /coloured community (more revenue) and pick the best ones for rugby... but NO instead they want to destroy it

Nobody understands what really goes on, and why, in Seth Efrican sport.

 

[Foreign Legion]

Rugby League will go from strength to strength says Jan Prinsloo, Chairman of Rugby League in the North West Province. Jan succeeded to introduce and to have rugby league played for the first time at a Union rugby club in South Africa when Potchefstroom Dorp Rugby Klub opened its doors for League after lengthy deliberations. According to Prinsloo, it pays of well and rugby is the winner.

This is one of a few breakthroughs League made in the North West.
Potch Dorp competed during 2015 league season in different
competitions and narrowly missed out on the final of the Jan Prinsloo
Provincial League Cup. The Potchefstromers gave the American
University of Beirut a hiding and the top League team in South Africa
at the time, the Bears of Kempton Park, was also buried in their very
first encounter on the main field of the club. After this, a strong
warning went out of what to expect in 2016/17.
.
Oom Jan spills over of energy, enthusiasm and dedication when he talks
about League,irrespective of him turning 80 next year. He was recently
asked by Potch Dorp to attend as coordinator for the 125th year
celebrations of this newly formed Union/League Club. The celebrations
took place on 23 April and scores of union legends showed up. Oom Jan
again caught everyone by surprise. Unaware of what Oom Jan was up to,
he asked the Master of Ceremonies to give him a few minutes.He had a
plaque in his hands and after a short but philosophical address, he
presented the Plaque on behalf of SARU to Mr. James Stofberg, Deputy
President of SARU who was asked to presented it to the chairman of the
Club, Dr. Jan Janse van Rensburg. This came as a huge surprise because
no one knew of Oom Jan's negotiations in secret with SARU.. The bond
between League and Union took an surprisingly positive turn at the AGM
of the Leopards Rugby Union a few weeks ago when the President of the
Leopards Rugby Union , Adv. Andre Mey, urged union clubs to follow in
the footsteps of Potch Dorp and play League in the off season. "This
could contribute to the development of not only rugby but the the
skills of players," he said.

Last year, League was again on the front pages. Oom jan took the
initiative to have an historical event in South African rugby to be
relived by commemorated an event many years ago. A huge granite
plaque was designed and placed on the very same site where
Potchefstroom Dorp and Klerksdorp met in 1890 for the very first time
in a rugby match on the now historical Old Market Square. He said at
the occasion that Union rugby and League have a brotherhood which
cannot be denied as they stem from the same oak rugby tree and that
"the game is greater than the man", he said.

Oom Jan is presently the oldest, active Rugby League official in South
Africa and a Legend of the game. He gained the Springbok blazer for
League after the 1963/4 Springbok tour to Australasia and is since
1962 actively involved with League.He is presently the adviser to the
President of South African Rugby League, Mr. Kobus Botha, a great
Rhino Rugby League man, a good friend of the Leopards rugby side and
supporter of the Springboks.
http://www.sarugbyleague.co.za/news/rugby-league-will-go-from-strength-to-strength-jan-prinsloo

 

[miguel de cervantes]

What exactly do you want the IRB to do?

They can't do much in the case of South Africa. However in the case of the UAE, they really shouldn't have given out awards for good management to the same people that pretty much framed and had a guy imprisonned. If they really are true to their famous morals and higher values they would punish unions that completely disregaurd them, not reward them.

 

[Foreign Legion]

Rugby league actually has something of a history in South Africa. Like league everywhere, it has also survived and continued to be played there, despite having to undergo an almost continual existential struggle.

Names such as Len Killeen, Jan Prinsloo and Tom Van Vollenhoven, as well as Dave Barends and Green Vigo, will be familiar to certain generations of UK rugby league fans.

Now a referee, Jamie Bloem also continues to keep the RSA flag flying in UK rugby league.

But there could be so many more of them, if the rugby talent in the country had access to a properly supported and funded rugby league structure.

That the sport in South Africa currently continues to be marginalised and oppressed seems almost an anchronism, until you tie it in with an ongoing pattern that includes Morocco and the UAE, and possibly even*Italy.

For those who do not know what has been occurring in South Africa over the last few years, it seems as though certain elements within South African sport do not want to see a viable rugby league structure in the country.

The reasons for this seem to begin with money, but they may go deeper than that. As SARL chairman Kobus Botha explained, one real obstacle for the growth of the sport in the republic is that they currently do not yet have South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASOC) recognition.

SASOC will not accept that rugby league is a different sport to union, which closes off access to funding, sponsorship and even official international recognition for league players.

"One of our main goals is to get recognition with SASCOC and the government to be able to present our national team, the Rhinos, with the recognition they deserve," Botha to rugby league.

"The colours presented to them at this stage are not recognized by the government or for that matter SASCOC.

"Without the recognition of SASCOC we can not apply for any state funding or any other funding from even the private sector. The reason? Because we are not a recognized sport.

"Our Minister of sport, Fikele Majola, sent out a press release the previous week that no sport in South Africa will get government funding if they do not comply with the new Transformation Act [legislation designed to improve racial equality in South Africa].

"We find this very interesting. Rugby league is a sport that has been focusing on the African Townships in South Africa.

"We are attempting to take the Sport to the Townships where we can provide a healthy sport programme for the youngsters to participate in, rather than joining gangs and using drugs.

"Presently we have three African teams in three black Townships. Unfortunately they cannot compete in our local competitions due to the lack of funding.

"We have rugby league clinics in the disadvantaged schools in the Black Townships on a regular basis but unfortunately this is where it ends due to lack of funding."

One particular frustration for Botha is that the social and community aspirations of rugby league are also being frustrated by the lack of recognition.

"We started with a 'One Community Project' in schools, which is an*NRL*project, where we visit black schools and teach them the basics - hygiene, how to react towards bullies, how to stay drug free et, with great success.

"This has been endorsed with great enthusiasm by the education departments where this was rolled out. Once again because the roll-out was self funded we could not continue with the programme.

"Without government and SASCOC recognition rugby league is not allowed to be played at school level.

"This in itself is a huge problem for SARL. The government want transformation in sports but they are not willing to accept and fund a sport that can really do something in regard to transformation.

"Rugby union has a very tight, strong hold over the media. Due to us not being recognised we get no media support from the media or television."

The reasons for rugby league not being recognised seem opaque at best, and downright idiotic and bigoted at worst.

This is despite correspondence, seen by Love Rugby League, from World Rugby (rugby union's world governing body) which confirms to the South African authorities that league is a different sport, with a distinct history and governing bodies from union.

"SASCOC is adamant that rugby league cannot be recognized as a sport by them due to the fact that their constitution states that they can only recognize one code and not different codes under the same structure," Botha explained.

"For example, all other rugby codes like Sevens, wheelchair, women's rugby, even Australian Rules, must fall under and be governed by SARU.

"We find this strange as SASCOC recognizes Karate as a code and Judo as a different code, yet they are both martial arts."

Rugby league finding recognition in South Africa is not a new problem, however, with discrimination dating back to the 1960s.

"Our plight with the recognition of rugby league started in the early 60s," Botha explained.

"In 1963 the first rugby league team, consisting of former Springboks and other Union players, went on tour and participated in the Rugby League*World Cup.

"They where the first ever South African team that had an African player in their team.

"On their return they where told by the then president of the South African Rugby Union, Dr Danie Craven, that if any union player ever touched a rugby league ball they would be banned from playing Rugby Union.

"This resulted in rugby league being banned until 1994. Since 1994, when we where allowed to play rugby league in South Africa, it has been an ongoing struggle to get SASCOC recognition."

Love Rugby League has also seen correspondance from South African rugby union authorities to the SARL that reveal a concern about competing with league for state funding, particularly from the National Lottery in South Africa.

The line from SARU is that they would be competing with league for a share of a small cake in regard to state funding.

One has to ask why union is in need of state funding in a country where it is often treated as a national sport? If South African rugby union and the Springboks are as mighty as their backers make them out to be, why do they need this additional funding?

Botha confirmed that the issue seems to be with local authorities in South Africa, rather than World Rugby, which has been broadly supportive of their cause.

"We have presented SASCOC with letters from World Rugby and Mr Jurie Roux, the CEO of SARU. that clearly state that rugby league is a completely different code, but without any success," he said.

"They will allow us to participate and be recognised under the auspice of rugby union. This is not what we want.

"We must to be recognised as a different code.

"Why we are not recognised we can only be ponder upon. Rugby union is afraid of rugby league.

"There are thousands of union players that get no recognition from union and they would love to join the ranks of RL, as soon as we are accredited, where they will have the opportunity to get recognition on a Provincial and National level.

"Rugby league will eventually outgrow union and that is one of the reasons for not accepting us.

"Further to this I have a letter from Mr Oregon Hoskins, President of SARU, that clearly states that if we should get recognition we will have access to government and Lotto funding and he (Hoskins) feels that we will be entitled to funding that is actually being given to rugby union.*(Love Rugby League has seen this letter).

"We must keep in mind that Mr Tubby Reding, President of SASCOC, comes out of the rugby union ranks and will do everything in his power to protect rugby union."

For Botha, the case for the SARL is clear, but he is also sure that they can only eventually win their fight for official recognition with more support from the global rugby league community.

"Your on going support for SARL from the league communities and media gives us the strive to keep on fighting for our rights in South Africa," he said.

"The more media exposure we get the greater the chances of someone opening the eyes of SASCOC. As you are aware it is very unlikely that we will get local or government funding while not recognised as a sport.

"We have had international companies showing interest in supporting us financially but unfortunately nothing has come of this up to now."

Meanwhile, the Rhinos continue to plan international fixtures, despite their travails. They hope, one day, to be playing regular fixtures against other African, Middle Eastern and Pacific teams.

"We are planing to host a Tri Nations competition in South Africa between Lebanon and Niue in October," Botha confirmed.

"The challenge for us is that all our tours are self-funded and we are attempting to raise enough funds to cover the ground costs for the tour.

"This would have been a showcase event for the Government and SASCOC, were we accepted.

"The sad reality is that this competition might not take place.

"We had a invitation from Ghana to send a team to play a match there but unfortunately due to the lack of funding we had to cancel.

"We are attempting to get sponsors for our sport and yes it would be great to be able to compete against our neighboring countries.

"We have had the privilege to host*World Cup*Qualifiers in South Africa. Although the Rhinos did not qualify it was great experience for us.

"Sadly we once again had no media coverage. Lebanon and SARL are currently looking at starting a MEAC (Middle East African Confederation ) that will enable us to participate in a African International Competition."

Botha, despite the problems, remains optimistic about the future, with some talented players in the rugby league system in South Africa.

The prospect of bringing*NRL*or*Super League*clubs to South Africa to play a fixture, perhaps a World Club Challenge game, is also something which appeals.

"We have currently two Rhino players in*Australia*playing club rugby there," said Botha.

"We have a considerable amount of potential players that would definitely qualify to play for international clubs.

"I think it would be unfair to the players to mention names. But be sure we have a lot of talent.

"A World Club Challenge game would be tremendous.

"As I mentioned we do get a number of international teams playing in SA on a yearly bassis and as mentioned we had aWorld Cup*Qualifier games in SA.

"South Africa Rugby League has a lot of challenges but be sure we will overcome. The proverbial sleeping giant will rise in South Africa.

"I would like to thank the International Rugby League community for their ongoing support. It means a a lot to us."

So, what does rugby union in South Africa have to lose? What are the reasons for this ridiculous lack of recognition from SASOC, when even the IRB is telling them the truth?

One day, we might find out. Until then, we should back the SARL to the hilt, as they try a develop a new frontier for rugby league, and tap into a potentially huge pool of talent.




http://www.loverugbyleague.com/news_21883-south-africa-is-rugby-union-running-scared-of-league.html

 

[Foreign Legion]

We are planing to host a Tri Nations competition in South Africa between Lebanon and Niue in October," Botha confirmed


WCC would really work because it would be half way for NRL and SL clubs