Minister supports Newlands move
The underfire Western Province Rugby Football Union has a powerful backer for their decision to retain Newlands as their home base.
Ivan Meyer, the MEC of Cultural Affairs and Sport in the Western Cape provincial legislatures, said Wednesday the union should not be pushed in any direction on the polemical stadium issue.
Despite claims of ‘cordial discussions’ it is public knowledge that the WPRFU and the city of Cape Town has a long-running dispute over attempts to get the rugby union to move away from the historical venue in Newlands and take up residency at the purpose-build venue in Greenpoint.
The debate took a serious turn for the worse when the WPRFU – ostensibly at the insistence of the union’s 92 clubs – turned down a request by England’s Premiership champions Saracens to play a European Cup match against French giants Biarritz at the Cape Town Stadium.
Despite obtaining permission from the International Rugby Board and the South African Rugby Union, the WPRFU (and the clubs) blocked the historic venture.
The clubs (or rather WPRFU) then took it a step further by making it clear they will remain at Newlands and will not relocate to the Cape Town Stadium – a move that was reaffirmed at a meeting on Monday.
This decision has the support of the ministry, with Meyer expressing his support for the WPRFU.
“I have a very simple philosophy,” Meyer said.
“The WPRFU owns the stadium in Newlands, the WPRFU has 92 clubs and they have to listen to those 92 clubs.”
Meyer said he had a meeting with WPRFU President Tobie Titus he supports their strategy for the future.
“I don’t think we must push the WPRFU in any direction,” the minister said.
“We must respect the decisions of the WPRFU.
“My particular political view is that I respect the view of the WPRFU and I have no intention of pushing them.
“I feel they have applied their minds, they have their sponsors, they have their structures, they have the 92 clubs, they have got the governance structures in place.
“My role is to support the WPRFU in executing their mandate.”
WPRFU President Tobie Titus said ultimately it is the union’s decision whether they want to move and when.
“That decision [not to move to the Cape Town Stadium] was, on Monday, reconfirmed by 92 clubs… not by the executive, not by Toby Titus, as people suggested.
“They [the clubs] reaffirmed that for the time being this union will stay at Newlands.”
He said that doesn’t mean in five years, because of changing circumstances, the clubs will not reconsider that decision.
“Certain people [on the WPRFU executive] were delegated to keep in contact with the Cape Town city council,” Titus said, adding: “It is an ongoing discussion.
“Once these discussions are finalised we will come back to them [the clubs] and say: ‘These are the models that we must consider, the decision is yours’.”
Titus confirmed that no time frame given for how long they will stay at Newlands.
“All the clubs said was: ‘We support you and we reconfirm that for the timer being we stay at Newlands’.”
By Jan de Koning
