Who are the real professionals?

The Jaque Fourie arbitration saga appears to have reached some sort of conclusion. But is it really the end of the problems for the Golden Lions? rugby365 editor Jan de Koning looked at structures and recruiting policies of the unions around the country and found that very few are truly professional.

There is no doubt in my mind that the entire Jaque Fourie saga laid bare certain administrative deficiencies at the Golden Lions Rugby Union. Yes, it is not what GLRU CEO Manie Reyneke and President Kevin de Klerk want to hear, but it is true – even if it is not all of their own doing.

If you have the high player turnover that the Lions experienced this year, then there is no doubt that the union has certain administrative issues to deal with. The CEO and his board have to be on the ball and as painful as it may seem, the truth is the GLRU management structures are not functioning effectively.

It is also worth taking a look at how these unions manage their coaches. It is a fact that players want to play where they are happy with and confident in coaches. Unhappiness with coaching set-ups can contribute to the high player turnover – just ask the GLRU.

You have to ask yourself: ‘Is Dick Muir, the new Lions Director of Coaching, not already at a major disadvantage?’ How much of a say did Muir have in player recruitment? How happy will he be with players already signed? Is it a healthy situation to first sign the players and then the coach? Will any of those players already signed end up on the scrap heap as Muir cleans the cupboards and bring in his own set of recruits?

Another key aspect to look at when considering the quality of an administration is what back-up – in terms of medical, etc – is in place? I was shocked to learn recently that at the Golden Lions the team has two permanent dieticians, but no full-time physio.

They will certainly eat well, but how do they mend their battered bodies?

I though it would be a good exercise to compare the structures at the various unions and list them in order of “professionalism” – with the most professional unions, in my opinion, at the top.

Top of my list is the Blue Bulls (Pty) Ltd. They have in Ian Schwartz, the High Performance Manager, a man in control of all recruitment. He handles contracting of players, negotiations with agents, etc. It is all within his portfolio – a smooth-running set-up where players are recruited at an early stage and brought through the system and where senior players are required to fill the gaps it will be done without too much fuss.

At the Sharks there is Rudolf Straeuli, Commercial Manager, who also run a reasonably sound ship. The Sharks have been regarded as the benchmark for professionalism in terms of administration since the early 1990s, but they may well run a close second to the Bulls at present. Their systems are in place as well, with the occasional hiccup and very little unhappiness.

At Western Province there is a very strong quartet in charge – lawyer Frikkie Erasmus assists senior professional coach Rassie Erasmus at Super 14 level, but because Frikkie Erasmus is not involved with the Currie Cup coach, Allister Coetzee, a lot of that has fallen back on WP Rugby Pty (Ltd) Managing Director Rob Wagner for lower league recruiting. But there is close co-operation between, Erasmus X two, Wagner and Coetzee. There has been some recruitment issues, but over the past two years they have worked hard at getting proper systems in place and the results are now beginning to show on the playing field.

The Free State Cheetahs is a prime example of a union that hasn’t quite taken the leap to professionalism, as they haven’t got a full-time recruitment officer. Despite bringing through many quality players every year, a limited budget and poor structures are the cause of a very high player turnover in Bloemfontein. Head coach Naka Drotské, who works directly with recruitment, does an admirable job and is assisted by Helgard Muller, as well as referee Jaco Peyper. But they don’t have a specialist and it shows.

The Golden Lions, as we know, are a right royal mess. They also don’t have a specialist and CEO Manie Reyneke mostly handles the recruitment. It appears he was thrown in at the deep end, following the sudden departure of his predecessor Andy Turner, and Reyneke may well lack the expertise and experience that is required to be a specialist in the field of recruitment. It certainly didn’t help that Jannie Ferreira was ousted as President by a club revolt this year – following the equally acrimonious departure of coach Eugene Eloff. This ‘palace revolution’ may well be the result of a build-up of unhappiness over the last few years. They could do with a few professionals on board.

If you want to look at a prime example of a minnow with a small budget that operates in a professional manner, have a look at the Griffons. CEO Eugene van Wyk knows exactly how many players he can contract and is working within a very strict budget. He deals with a very small group of contracted players and the rest simply get match-frees. There is no uncertainty and they all know what to expect.

The SWD Eagles and Leopards are other examples of small unions managing a small budged.

At the Eagles Johan Lerm will chat to the players and will get Stag Cronjé in to help and they will make their budget work. It is clean and simple.

The Leopards have in Eugene Hare a boss who runs tight ship and leads with an iron fist. He stays within his budget.

However, the Boland is another union that is in chaos. Two months ago they still couldn’t offer players any contracts and now – with the promotion-relegation play-offs looming – they are scrambling to secure players. They are embroiled in a legal battle over their coaching set-up – having fired Deon Davids and replaced him with Chester Williams. It is not surprising to hear there were threats of a player strike last week and to see the union making liberal use of the loan agreement they have with Western Province. They struggle to find sponsors, players are unhappy and the results on the field are poor. It says a lot about the administration.

Griquas is another problem province. They appear to have overspent their budget and they are now under financial pressure – not to mention the fact that they have lost a few big names already. They may have done very well this year, but their problems may soon catch up with them.

To get back to issue of professionalism in administrative terms.

The Bulls deserve plaudits for their professional approach in this regard. They adhere strictly to the standard players contract and collective agreement. That is what the players sign and there’s no fancy stuff or funny additions to contracts. It is a very clean set-up – certainly compared to some of the other unions.

Other unions take parts of the standard player contract, add their own conditions, and you end up with a mess such as what the Lions find themselves in.

Also take a look at how the Bulls managed the Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha situations.

Matfield, when he wanted to come back from France, was able to secure a third party agreement and a third party ‘intervention’ was placed in place to ensure he returns to South Africa and remain eligible for the Springboks.

Botha was embroiled in a similar scenario as that what Jaque Fourie found himself in. Because the Bulls are so thorough, they were able to secure the big lock’s services – effectively winning the battle, where the Lions lost – and Botha was happy to stay on in a place where he knows he will be treated in a professional manner.

In this regard European countries are light years ahead of South Africa.

Take, for example, the players’ image rights. There is great value in that, yet in South Africa only at Springbok level has this been well-constructed for the players.

At provincial level this remains an under-utilised issue.

Clubs in Europe are very good at getting personalised sponsors for players or selling additional advertising space on players’ clothing. etc. Their players are being sponsored by corporate entities, who then have rights to utilise the players’ image. Those same players will also make appearances of corporate functions several times a year.

Very few players in South Africa utilise this facility.

It is called being a ‘professional’.