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South African exit from Super Rugby inevitable

Roar Guru
8th April, 2014
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The Cheetahs celebrating a job well done. (AFP PHOTO / Saeed KHAN)
Roar Guru
8th April, 2014
241
6572 Reads

According to most Australian fans and the Australian Rugby Union, it seems that Super Rugby in its current guise – whereby teams from the three participating nations fly across the Indian Ocean to compete – is no longer wanted or required.

It seems to me at least that the ARU is intent on pushing for a restructuring or ‘realignment’ of their current goals and partnerships.

The situation reminds me of this quote from business strategist Curtis E. Sahakian:

“You can adapt by changing your organisation’s relationships with other organisations through corporate partnering. Instead of building internal capabilities you turn to partnerships and alliances. As you need to change and adapt, you change partners. Companies that know how to form and use this partnering are displacing those that don’t get it.”

As Sahakian suggests above, there comes a time when the realisation hits that current partners aren’t seeing things the way you do. In other words, your ideologies are not being shared by your partners and the time has come to discard one or both of them and find a new partner to bed.

Japan seems to be the next intended target – a financially prospering economy, a hundred million-plus population and in much closer proximity to the Antipodes.

It makes sense, even for a South African on the other side of the Indian Ocean. When your goals are no longer shared by a nation half a world away, where time zones have never been favourable; where travel has not only been a drag but also eats into the profitability of the venture; and when a partner intent on playing hardball, demanding a sixth team and most likely a fairer share of a pie they contribute to the most, why not look elsewhere?

The New Zealand Rugby Union, though, is between a rock and a hard place. Does it make sense for them to align with the ARU?

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Of course it does. They share a bond much closer with their neighbors than a bunch of Boers half a world away – ANZAC Day, history, Bledisloe, commercial interest, and so on.

The Springboks may have been their traditional foe, but let’s be honest – the rivalry ended during 1981’s ‘Flour Bomb’ series, nearly 35 years ago.

Since then the Springboks have struggled to hang onto a 30 per cent win rate against the All Blacks, and as for fronting up to the beef eaters from Africa? Well, you can find tough men everywhere these days.

It is therefore logical that there are more reasons for the New Zealand Rugby Union to align with the ARU and search for other commercial partners, leaving the SARU to their own devices.

The writing is on the wall, and if the realignment does not happen with the current contract negotiations, I am pretty sure it will eventuate with the next contract negotiations. The ARU will convince at least the New Zealand Rugby Union of bringing in the yen from Japan.

I have only one request – why delay the inevitable? If a realignment is going to happen, why waste time?

Let’s get it over and done with. The SARU has people to see and places to go.

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