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?
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
Rugby League hasn’t changed in 5 years. Rugby League has a history of change. It copied American Football with limited tackles with a handover of possession in 1966/67 but the Rugby obsessed Kiwis asked for a scrum at the end of each set of four tackles plunging the game into a game full of scrums and scrum penalties. Now scrums are way of giving the teams a small defensive line because the scrum feeders always win the ball. It is no longer a battles for possession. It may be delusional, but I prefer running rugby league to union with it’s constant battle for possession although am looking forward to the Rugby world cup and hope Australia can win its third world cup.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
No, Australians pay more attention to Australian Football. In NSW and Qld both rugby and league are popular although the NRL does get the most viewers. Australia would have won more than two rugby world cups if the Aussie Rules states weren't so obsessed with their home-grown game.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
The Kiwis can accommodate rugby league despite being the world's greatest power in rugby union. This from a country with a population less than NSW. The reason why rugby league won’t work in SA is the SARU have enough problems with soccer without losing more supporters to another code.
Rosie
Roar Rookie
I wouldn’t give a great deal of time analysing why league doesn’t work in SA. We have an established footprint in Europe and the UK, the focus should be on strengthening and growing the Super League and the French Elite One Championship. So much potential if done correctly.
Boonterry
Guest
Rugby League hasn't changed in 5 years. Yet the delusional expansionists still blame everyone and everything for it not growing and struggling
Allan Wilton
Guest
Is there any structures Competitions in any of the Major Cities. If so what age Groups are played and what are the numbers of Registered Players. Thanks
Diogenes
Guest
What is it with Rugby and right-wing extremism. Vichy France, Apartheid South Africa and, of course, Alan Jones
Yevgeny
Guest
I would've thought the history of rugby league would suit a fair swag of South Africans battlers from marginalised communities. Born on the back of working class people. Look at the 7s, a lot of Safas would be great in league. They will never accept it because it's a better tv product. That's what they're scared of
Alex the wax
Guest
It's funny how Australians pay more attention to the Kangaroos (Rugby League) when the Wallabies (Rugby Union* - Real Rugby) team falls off and probably vice-versa for that matter....
Glenn
Guest
Don't forget Benito Mussolini, Nicolas Ceausescu and Dr Harold Shipman, that's quite a death toll - Honorable mention George W. Bush
Dan
Guest
There's a book called 'Tries and Conversions' by Peter Lush and Hendrik Snyders, about SA Rugby Union players who switched to Rugby League. It is a pretty good read, and I was surprised by the number of RU players who went to RL, dating from 1910 right up to the Super League era. Not everyone made it, of course, and before the death of shamateurism in the 1990s, players knew they'd cop a life ban from their former code for making that decision. But there were many notable successes too.
SAVAGE
Guest
Yeah but, if you look at the history of Union, it would be fair to say, that if wasn't for League poaching Union players, Union would not have gotten of it's backside and ushered in professionalism when it did.
Hannes
Guest
Ditto. League does not register not even on an South African search engine. I have seen more AFL games on SA TV than league.
Hannes
Guest
Need to defend Danie Craven here.... He hated professionals as he believed that if rugby turn professional like league that rugby will loose its ethos for example the friendships build from touring a country and playing tests against other nations. In a sense he was correct as rugby tours disappeared (with the exception of the B&I Lion tours). Professionalism changed rugby, probable mostly for the good.
Hannes
Guest
SASCOC will surely try to minimise their expense. If SASCOC does not believe that Union, 7-a-side and touch rugby are different enough to register as seperate sports, then surely league will struggle to register as well. It is a pitty as I would like to see as many people as possible to compete in sports. I always thought there is only one one rugby game played until Ray Mordt and Rob Louw played league for Wigan in the 80s. That was when rugby was still an amateur sport and league paid well. If more people can make a living from playing sports why not? However if you want government funding for anything in South Africa you need the Gupta's blessing ... and they like cricket.
Hannes
Guest
Tell him he is dreaming..... The same problems that is plauging the development of rugby union in poor areas also applies to rugby league. How do you convince a kid that is kicking a soccer ball to his mates on a rock hard dirt road to rather tackle his mates on this road as there is no sporting facilities with grass in townships and the government has no interest to build these facilities.
Queries
Guest
The whites there don't like Rugby League. They are too fat and slow. South Africa is more likely to embrace Rugby League when the Caucasoids have been filtered through the system and replaced.
allblackfan
Guest
I stand corrected.
Chris
Guest
Interesting - had a look and Mark Alexander also sits on the board who is SARU deputy president. But that is only two of thirteen board members, and from a quick look at the SASCOC constitution it doesn't even seem to be a decision for the General Assembly, not Board. Seems odd that they couldn't get enough support amongst the 155 odd member groups of SASCOC. Maybe there are some other criteria they are failing to satisfy.
nerval
Guest
My pleasure, ClarkeG but, still, his missive doesn't tally with your interpretation of it. His singling out one sport, and one sport only, rather gave the game away.