So here we go. Rugby decisions made at the top has real life implication. Yes, we have all been directly or indirectly effected by retrenchments and it is never every nice. We are a strong supporter of cost saving ideas, but the what really worries me about this is that SA Rugby thinks that it is a great idea to reduce the number of professional rugby players in South Africa from around 990 to 460.
That is 40 to 50 contracted players per larger union, in total. Does not sound like that many per union, but if you do the sum, that would result in 530 players not being contracted in 2019. So were will they go?
We are assuming that maybe 10% of them will be "standby players" that will play or be available for a specific union on a "match fee" for that day. That sounds a little bit like the club rugby scene in 1994. And we all know we never got paid! We are sure the unions will be better than the clubs, but working on a "pay for play basis" never paid the bills.
According to our rugby friends at News24 and IOL as well as the the Lions Rugby Union website they have all written and reported that players will be retrenched. We have included below both the News24 and IOL articles for you to read. Also welcome to follow the links to their respective websites.
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News24 reports that "The Lions have announced that they will offer severance packages to an undisclosed number of their contracted players."
Lions to cull players in line with SA Rugby plan
The continue with: "This follows a recent announcement by SA Rugby that the country's rugby governing body intended to cut the number of professional players in the country.
Via a press statement released on Friday, the Lions announced that they have “involuntarily” taken the decision.
Via a press statement released on Friday, the Lions announced that they have “involuntarily” taken the decision.
“Due to changes in the Rugby Industry whereby the decision to reduce professional players has been instigated the Lions Rugby Company (Pty) Ltd. has been involuntarily required to offer mutual severance packages to contracted players,” the statement read.
The Lions did not indicate who the affected players were.
The Lions did not indicate who the affected players were.
The statement continued: “The Company has been in communications with SAREO, The South African Rugby Players’ Association (SARPA) and various CEOs of the different Rugby Franchises over the past year in order to determine the most appropriate way forward, change in competitions structures, the changes of the industry as well as the increasing financial pressures.
“The Lions Rugby Company (Pty) Ltd. began engaging with various players whereby a mutual separation and exiting agreements could be concluded with the support of SA Rugby and SARPA.”
SA Rugby president Mark Alexander earlier said the new system would aim to reduce the number of professional players in the country from around 990 to 460.
It means that the major franchises will only be able to contract between 40-50 players per season.
Mandisi Tshonti, General Manager of Player Affairs at SARPA, believes the Lions’ decision was done with the best interests of the players and the union in mind.
“With unions experiencing ongoing stress determined by factors within the industry, we can expect more of these processes to follow in the future. This process is not something new in the industry and as representatives of the players we were informed of planned consultations with the players. Form past experiences we have seen that if this process is followed correctly it will be beneficial for both parties but we will nonetheless stay close to the process and advise the players,” said Tshonti.
Bart Schoeman, High Performance Manager of the Lions, added: “After numerous meetings with all relative parties the industry changes have forced a change in strategic planning. Processes have been forced to ensure sustainability and succession plans with the franchise. For Lions Rugby equality, transparency and future opportunity is of paramount importance whereby confidentiality is key to the sensitivity of the process.”
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The IOL website at https://www.iol.co.za also reports that the Lions will terminate players:
Lions terminate players' contracts due to 'industry changes'
IOL writes: They write that "The Lions Rugby Company have terminated the contracts of several players following discussions between them and the South African Rugby Players Association.
It is not yet known how many players’ contracts have come to an end, and whether they are senior or junior players."
And continue saying that: "The Lions announced on Friday that due to changes in the rugby industry – to reduce the number of professional players in the country in future – they’d been “involuntarily required to offer mutual severance packages to contracted players.”
The Lions furthermore said they’d been in communication with Sarpa, Sareo and the CEOs of the other franchises to determine the best way forward following changes in the competition structures, the rugby landscape and the increasing financial pressure placed on unions."
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From the Lions Rugby Union website:
Industry changes push player severance
09 November 2018
Due to the changes in the Rugby Industry whereby the decision to reduce professional players has been instigated the Lions Rugby Company (Pty) Ltd. has been involuntarily required to offer mutual severance packages to contracted players.
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