SA teams' financial value outweighs travel issues says URC boss

As he looks back on his ten years at the helm, United Rugby Championship chief executive Martin Anayi is in no doubt over his proudest achievement.

“That would be when we brought the South African teams in and created the United Rugby Championship,” he declared.

Initially, it was the Cheetahs and the Southern Kings who came on board to form the PRO14 in 2017.

Then, four years later, they were replaced by the Stormers, Bulls, Sharks and Lions, amid the formation of the 16-team URC.

It’s a project which has provoked criticism in some quarters, but, on the field, the sides have delivered in the league, with the Stormers from Cape Town winning the inaugural URC title in 2022 and making the Final the following year, while the Bulls of Pretoria have twice been runners-up.

As for this term, you have three of the South African sides flying high, with the HSharks and Lions joining the Bulls in the top six.

Reflecting on the impact the teams have made, Anayi said: “They have been tremendously successful in terms of performance and attendance, as well as financially and commercially.

“Pretty much anybody you speak to in the league will say they have raised the standard of the competition on and off the field and they will continue to do that.”

*Article continues below…

Expanding on the financial benefit, he said: “It’s a game changer. It’s millions.

“More than half our revenue comes from South Africa via television and sponsorship.

“They are also providing more value to EPCR, via sponsorship of the Champions Cup.

“It is a huge part of the rugby economy for Europe.”

As for the price tag, in terms of travel, Anayi insisted: “Our costs are very limited.

“Remember, we swapped out an Italian game for a South African game. Teams were already having to pay to go to Italy, so we just give them a top-up to go to South Africa.

“It doesn’t cost that much compared to what it brings in. It is a very, very good deal.”

Surveying his decade in the job, Anayi said: “We have gone through phases.

“We were PRO12, PRO14, then we had Covid and out of which came URC. It feels like we have done it in phases and the last four years have probably been the most solid out of that – solid in the sense that we have got revenues to a point and our competition is growing in terms of attendance, TV audience, social media.

“We have grown our revenues a lot. It’s probably three or four times what it was ten years ago.

“We have also found we have connected with an audience.

“We have worked really hard to try and find new fans. We’ve hired people to engage on channels pointing to kids who are 13, 14.

“They are not watching linear TV, they are watching stuff on YouTube. So we have invested a lot into our social channels, including our YouTube channel. That has grown tremendously and you can tell that’s a much younger audience that’s engaging.

“We have also invested in a piece of software which puts content into players’ hands immediately after the game is over.

“There are 700 players that have taken it up. They get back in the dressing room and we have uploaded all the pictures of them from the game. That means players who have their own social media profiles can push that wider.”

So, if that’s the past and the present, what of the future?

*Article continues below…

The Premiership merger?

In recent months, there has been widespread speculation about a possible merger between the URC and England’s Premiership.

Ask Anayi how he feels about that and he replied: “It’s not a frustration.

“People may not know this, but we sit in the same office as Premiership Rugby in London. We have the same co-owner and minority investor in CVC.

“We do a lot together. We are shareholder partners on EPCR. We are incredibly close to them. That’s probably where it comes from most of the time.

“We are always talking. Most of the time that means looking at how you do better TV deals together or how do we improve the Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup.

“We want to make sure we are running the best competitions we possibly can. Occasionally, we talk about whether there is more we can do together.

“At this stage, not, but whenever it comes up for review we never just block it off. We always give it due credence.

“But, at the same time, things are working really well for URC from a lot of metrics and in a lot of ways. URC has set a really high standard and we don’t want to do anything that’s detrimental to that.”

He concluded: “We sit in the same office as PRL, we see each other every day, we talk to each other about loads of stuff and occasionally we try and explore slightly more format-based initiatives, but we both individually love what makes us special.

“It would make sense to do more together in the future, but that may not necessarily mean merging the leagues, it might just mean being more commercially aligned or working on initiatives that grow the fan base.”

On the commercial front, there are big decisions to be made in the immediate term, with the URC’s deals with broadcasters Premier Sports and title sponsors up at the end of this season.

Providing an update, Anayi says: “Premier Sports have really enjoyed it and we have both done well out of the partnership. They have had a lot of rugby subscriptions and are investing in their own rugby channel. They have supported us for many years now and done a really good job.”

As for the next TV deal, he reveals: “We are almost done on that front. We will announce that post Christmas and there is a sense of continuity.”

The message is the same in terms of the arrangement with the Indian tyre manufacturing company.

“We are in negotiations. Those conversations are going really well.”

As for future ambitions for the competition he has overseen for a decade, the former motorsport administrator has one thing on his mind above all.

“Attendance,” he declared.

“Attendance is the heart and soul of any league or any sport.

“What we want to see, especially in Wales, is attendances going up in double digits percentage-wise each year over the next two or three years.

“If we get that, then we will be in a good spot and not just relying on a big game to bump the numbers, but rather week-in, week-out attendance. That’s probably the one thing over the next two years. If that goes up, I think we are doing a good job.

“For example, Cardiff played Connacht at the Arms Park last season and it was a sell-out. So it’s possible for non-derby games, it’s doable. We just need it more often across the competition.”

Outlining another goal, he said: “The class of travel for our teams is something we need to address – moving to business class travel for the South African trips. Big guys need space.

“In terms of travel logistics, the regular season matches are not a problem. We know about those trips and book a long way out. It’s more when it comes to knock-out rugby. That can be hard.

“So, we can change our format in terms of having gaps in the play-offs. We can concertina the regular season and maybe start it a little bit earlier to give ourselves an extra week around semi-final and final.”

Then, lastly, there’s one more piece in the jigsaw which he has his eye on – Wales.

“There is a new CEO and chair at the WRU, there is a new impetus and they have got a new funding model coming in,” he said.

“We support that massively. That will mean the Welsh clubs being competitive in the URC which is probably the missing ingredient we need for this league to really kick on.”