The future of WPRFU: It is amateur hour

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: When Western Province Rugby Football Union clubs go to the polls later this month, you could see the last vestiges of professionalism being voted out.

As the only outfit in the country where the union is the sole (100 percent) shareholder of the company that runs the professional arm, there looks set to be a ‘palace revolution’ of sorts.

As @rugby365com reported last month, the election on November 27 – to name a replacement for outgoing President Thelo Wakefield – will be a straight race between Springbok selector and astute businessman Peter Jooste against ‘amateur’ man and current Deputy President Zelt Marais.

And we can reveal that if Marais wins the race, some of the most astute financial minds in the WPRFU set-up could be “lost” to the union.

Among the current WPRFU executive members set to lose out are Jooste (as said, as a very successful businessman he understands the machinations of professional rugby), David Kagan (one of Cape Town’s foremost lawyers – specialising in Conveyancing and Property Law, Corporate and Commercial Law and Sports Law), along with long-standing executive members like Spencer King and Moneeb Levy.

Those are just a few in the dramatic changes proposed at the elections.

In contrast, the ticket Marais is running on is strictly amateur – with just one member of a Super League A club represented.

In fact, even knowledgeable WPRFU folk will have trouble recognising some of the names on a list that has very little in terms of professional rugby experience.

@rugby365com can, exclusively, reveal the proposed WPRFU executive committee on Marais’ ticket.

Marais’ executive makes for ‘interesting’ reading if you realise they are expected to lead the cash-strapped union out of the financial doldrums they have found themselves in, in recent years.

You also have to wonder if any private equity investor would still be interested in getting involved?

* See Marais’ election ticket below:

* ALSO: Province’s choice: Professional or amateur

By Jan de Koning
@king365ed
@rugby365com