Duty calls

Finally a despatch from the corridors of SA Rugby to cheer about – Oregan Hoskins is to make himself available for re-election as the body’s president.

In terms of the immediate future of South African rugby that is extremely good news for it was a matter of grave concern to me that the man who has steered the game through momentous and remarkably successful times was on the brink of departing… and no-one seemed to be doing anything about it.

It is easy now to forget what a mess South African rugby was in when the shy, dignified and quietly-spoken Natalian stepped in in 2006 to pick up the pieces after the tumultuous reign of Brian van Rooyen.

His tenure has coincided with great success on the field, as evidenced by the truck full of trophies currently touring the platteland, and intense “spolitics” (my word for the fevered interference and subjective meddling sports administrators have to deal with) off it.

Although success in local rugby is measured by the performance of the Springboks Hoskins did an amazing job in restoring South Africa’s shattered image and standing in the corridors of the IRB in Dublin.

He would have arrived as an unknown, representing a country that had once dominated discussions in the days of Craven and Luyt, but which was now a laughing stock and it is a remarkable achievement that he is now seen as one of the inner circle and a possible future president of the IRB.

Hoskins mentioned to me some time ago that he would not stand for re-election and while I understood his reasons (would you put up with it?) I wondered at the wisdom of allowing him to walk away.

Thinking about it I felt the bigger unions would not allow such an erosion of South Africa’s status in the world game, not to mention the potential downside of having a key player no longer involved in critical issues such as rugby’s relationship with the government and the thorny and ongoing problems with the eastern Cape - Eastern Province, Border, SWD and the Southern Kings.

In recent times I have stood back from the politics of local rugby but I must say I was alarmed to hear on the grapevine of the machinations to dragoon some other, decidedly lightweight (in international standing if not body mass!) official into the top job in South African rugby.

Surely someone is going to head this off?, I thought to myself so it was with a great sense of relief that I read that Hoskins had declared himself available to stand for another term.

I do not know him well but from the few exchanges we have had I feel sure he was driven by a sense of duty. I feel certain that for Oregan Hoskins it is more about rugby than himself and I’m not so sure I can say that about some of the others names that have been thrown into the hat.

It would be madness for South Africa to give up one of four positions on Rugby World Cup Ltd (Hoskins serves on the committee along with the current chairman Bernard Lapasset, the former chairman Syd Millar and the current vice-chairman Bill Beaumont) as well as one of the positions on the council of the IRB in the year ahead of the next World Cup.

The immediate agenda includes the ticklish situation of folding SA Rugby back into a single unit, the appointment of a CEO for that newly created organisation, the ongoing relationship with government and continued labours to find a solution to the problems in the eastern Cape and to me it seems imperative that Hoskins stays in the saddle.

Unlike my days on the Sunday Times I have not tested the mood and gauged the direction of the sentiment in the unions, where once again, I am told, there is much under-handed “konkling” going on to corner the vote of the country unions, but I would be astounded if those who claim to have the well-being of SA Rugby at heart did not move to head it off.

At this time, more than ever, the game needs someone at the helm who knows what he is doing and Oregan Hoskins is that man.