Sarfu restructuring was not before time

Spotting out of the corner of his eye a group of journalists moving past him down Boundary Road, Rian Oberholzer broke off the conversation he was having with a fellow Sarfu official and hurried after them.

"What is wrong? What is the matter? You guys look cross, you look unhappy." It was nice of the Sarfu chief executive, now the newly appointed first Managing Director of SA Rugby (Pty) Ltd, to be so sensitive about how we felt.

But he needn't have worried himself that there was any anger at the ridiculously short Sarfu extraordinary meeting we had just sat through. It was not anger, just bewilderment tinged perhaps with a little regret that everything had gone off so uneventfully.

Those of us who have been in regular attendance at Sarfu annual general meetings over the years could be excused if we expected a little more action.

When Sports Minister Ncongde Balfour barged into the AGM last year and warned delegates that he should be treated in the same way they would treat an angry tiger, it was just the latest in a long line of rather eventful meetings of the rugby clan.

There was one good reason why some of us did not just wait for the press conference which was scheduled for later that afternoon and at which all the details of Sarfu's planned restructuring was to be unveiled.

Oberholzer knows better than anyone that no matter how ordered everything appears, you never quite know what might happen. Unlikely though it may have appeared, it was not beyond the realms of possibility that a certain former president of the organisation now residing in Ballito might suddenly put in an appearance with some or other objection.

South African rugby has had its fair share of controversy over the years. In latter times, Sarfu's officials have often provided the bulk of it. The old committee format of governance which had sufficed during the amateur era saw to it that nothing ever happened quickly. Those who had objections had plenty of time to leak their unhappiness to their favourite journalists.

Invariably, a Sarfu meeting at which anything of any import was to be ratified or decided was preceeded by much press speculation and debate. There was also a lot of behind the scenes canvassing. In short, there was never a shortage of intrigue - the type of stuff us hacks thrive on.

Sadly, at least for those of us who enjoyed the subtle and less subtle battles which played themselves out as a background to the Sarfu decision making process, Tuesday's meeting might have heralded the end of an era.

For one of the most obvious consequences of the split of South African rugby into an amateur and commercial arm is that the decision making process will now be streamlined. The old delays as we waited for amateur administrators to get time off work so that they could fly to Cape Town to discuss a weighty rugby related issue will be no more.

That means less public airing of grievances, less intrigue and less politicking. Also less of the confusion that led some officials to say things that they later realised were the product of ignorance. For newspaper hacks, it might mean fewer headline stories.

But there is an upside, and it extends further than the easing of the stress which afflicted poor old Elmare Harper, the Sarfu travel agent and flight guru, every time one of these meetings was called and she had to ensure all those disparate and far-flung individuals arrived in Cape Town on time.

At least now everything should be run more professionally. Oberholzer has also promised more transparency and openness, something which he was often prevented from providing in the past by the old school etiquette which prevented him from talking outside of the committee which ratified his every decision.

Unlike many of his colleagues on the previous Exco and the many delegates who annually decided South Africa's rugby fate at the AGM, Oberholzer spent all of his time thinking and strategising for Sarfu. He did not have other provincial and union interests to concern himself with.

In essence, his every move was kept in check by amateur administrators who gave their lives to rugby but often did not have the time to gather the information necessary if they were to take on a broader view of the issues impacting on the South African rugby politik as a whole.

Of course, those grass-roots issues were important, and they remain important. That is why it is imperative that the amateur arm is not relegated to a secondary role and it continues to accomodate the many well meaning officials who give their lives for the game but for whom it is not their means of income.

It is crucial that one of the guiding principles of the new dispensation be observed - Sarfu, as the custodian, must stay in control.

The commercial aspects at the top tier, where rugby's crown jewels are situated, depend on sound management at the feeder system level if they are to be a success. No-one in rugby, or no sector of the rugby community, can consider itself an island that operates by itself. There is an interdependency which which is crucial to the survival of the sport.

While matters relating to the Springboks, the Currie Cup and other big commercial concerns will now be the aegis of the Board of Directors, the provinces do still have a say in the way the game at the top is managed.

At the Sarfu annual meeting they will get to elect the seven representatives who will sit on the Board of Directors. They will also elect the president and his deputy and vice-president, who will also sit on the Board.

It should not be surprising that the move to this new structure has met with so little opposition. Most of the top provinces have undergone a similar metamorphosis, with commercial matters being handed over to people who have the necessary expertise. Those who are in it for their feel of the game continue to contribute at a different level, one that may be less glamorous but remains as important.

With the provinces already operating on a professional basis, my reaction to the news that Sarfu was going to follow the same route was similar to my seargent major's reaction when he heard that this "sleg troep" was "klaaring out" of the army - "Dis hoog tyd!" (roughly translated in that instance into "Not before bloody time").