Professionalise rugby in Africa

Lazarus Sauti

The Springboks, as the South Africa’s rugby national team is fondly known, is one of the best rugby teams in the world.

The team can compete with other best teams in the world such as New Zealand, Scotland, Australia, England, Wales, France, Canada and Argentina.

Lest we forget, the team once won the rugby world cup in 1996.

For the record, the team is an African team and the reason why the team always competes with the best is because of professionalism.

Accordingly, it is important for other African rugby national teams to turn professional if they want to compete with accomplished sides on the international stage.

This means that African countries should have well sponsored leagues and motivated players for their respective national rugby teams.

George Robertson, a United States of America rugby promoter believes that well sponsored national leagues are crucial for the development of the game of rugby.

He says, “An elite professional rugby union league is the backbone and now required for successful national-side play.”

Robertson said this when he was advocating for the professionalism of rugby in the USA.

Without doubt, African teams have great potential of becoming powerhouses if rugby is fully professionalised.

This is so because professionalism is a must in any business field since it is necessary for the long-term success of a business.

Sadly, in some African countries, the sport has of late struggled financially.

For instance, in Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Rugby Union had at times scrounged for funds to enable the country’s rugby national team to participate at tournaments such as the Africa Cup of Nations.

This needs to stop.

Thus, by turning professional, teams can thus value competition as part of their culture and competition is used to encourage people to constantly improve their skills so that they are able to achieve what they want out of life.

Competition can also drive rugby players to continue improving their skills, particularly if they wish to join the elite few that make up professional sports teams.

The Confederation of African Rugby (CAR), the governing body for rugby union within Africa, must therefore urge rugby controlling bodies within and across the African continent to employ professionals who have abilities to raise the image of rugby.

As the mother body, it is the duty of CAR to urge rugby controlling bodies to train coaches in an endeavour to raise the standard of rugby in the continent.

Furthermore, to infuse professional set up to rugby in the continent, rugby controlling bodies should scout for talent and contract some top players as advisors.

This means that more investments should be channeled in supporting rugby in schools.

This should start from primary schools up to tertiary levels.

Rugby should be given equal attention as like other sports such as soccer and cricket. This means for rugby to develop, academies should be established and corporates should support these academies.

It is also critical to note that infrastructure and media coverage are key elements in an attempt to professionalise rugby in the African continent.

The international Rugby Board chief executive Brett Gosper believes professionalism in rugby would do more to spur the growth of the game.

He notes, “It would drive very high commercial revenues through broadcast [agreements] … Not only because of the amount of money it would earn for the game but because it’s great to see it in a different context.”

Is he not Paul “Red” Adair who once said, “If you think a professional is expensive, wait until you try an amateur?” African countries should seriously think about this quote.