VIDEO: The right time to walk off into the sunset
WATCH as Kevin de Klerk explains why he has quit as Golden Lions Rugby Union President.
The outgoing GLRU boss suggested that officials have a tendency to cling to power too long.
Speaking to the media after confirming reports – which have been doing the rounds for months – that he is stepping down with immediate effect, De Klerk said it was not a decision taken lightly.
He has been in the hot seat for nine-odd years.
Now he will be spending more time in the family business and with his family.
In fact he is going hunting with his son this coming Saturday, rather than watching the Lions play the Bulls in a Currie Cup at Loftus Versfeld.
However, he will not be totally lost to the union.
“I will always be in the background if help is required,” he said, adding: “[It is] not farewell, just a small goodbye.”
De Klerk, in what can be seen as a slight to some of the long-serving administrators in South Africa, said it is the right time to step down.
“As [the Lions’ benefactor] Altmann [Allers] always says: ‘All too many people will ride this thing out, right until the bitter end.
“They will wear their blazers out, long before they retire.’
“There comes a time for all of us in leadership roles, where you conscientiously have to make a decision to say: ‘It is time for the next leader to come through’.
“I am 68 years of age and it is time for a younger man to come in and take this role.”
It is a well-known fact that in at least two of the country’s major unions there is a groundswell of resentment against the leaders.
It is not a surprise that those unions are also financially in trouble.
De Klerk said his departure will not mean the end of the GLRU or the Lions’ success.
“I am sure this Lions team will continue to go to great heights,”he said, adding: “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”
De Klerk spoke of the progress the union made since he arrived at a bankrupt institution that was eventually kicked out of Super Rugby in 2013 and was nearly permanently removed from the SANZAAR competition.
“Who can remember how close we came to losing out to the EP [Southern] Kings [in the promotion-relegation match in 2013] … by just two points,” he said of the Lions’ 44-42 (aggregate).
The Lions won 26-19 in Port Elizabeth and the Kings won 23-18 at Ellis Park.
“Two points and we were gone,” the outgoing Lions boss said.
“Think about where we have come since then,”he said, adding that among the greatest achievements of the union were the capping of almost 20 Springboks and an equal number of Junior Boks as well.
“The defining moments were winning two Currie Cup and reaching the Super Rugby Final the past three years.”
He also spoke fondly of the way in which businessman Altmann Allers rescued the union for financial ruin and the “great” work 1995 World Cup winner Rudolph Straeuli has done as a CEO.
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