Editorial: Relief ahead for EP Rugby Union

FINALLY it appears there could be light at the end of the tunnel for the beleaguered EP Rugby Union.

After months of being kept in the dark by the dilly-dallying SA Rugby Union, supporters were given an insight on plans to rescue the cash-strapped union.

Speaking in parliament this week, SA Rugby chief executive Jurie Roux said everything possible was being done to help the union out of its current financial predicament.

Roux revealed SA Rugby was talking to three different equity partners and that the process was very sensitive because of the liquidation application against EP Rugby.

SA Rugby made it clear it could not provide any funding to the EP Rugby Union but that it was talking to potential sponsors to assist in putting the union back on its feet.

If there is a stumbling block on the way to resurrecting EP Rugby then it is that any new sponsor would require good adherence to financial governance going forward. SA Rugby president Oregan Hoskins has indicated this is high on the agenda and that ensuring sound leadership would expedite the all-clear for sponsors to come on board.

What role current EP Rugby president Cheeky Watson will play in the coming months is unclear and he is facing a vote of no confidence next Saturday.

It does appear though that Watson is increasingly being sidelined as SA Rugby bids to give the union a more appealing front for potential sponsors.

Earlier this month, SA Rugby said its executive council had appointed Monde Tabata to liaise with the EP Rugby Union in the short term to discuss ways to ensure rugby continued despite the liquidation application which will be heard on May 10.

Tabata has taken on the role of administrator and another SA Rugby member, Francois Davids, is the chairman, and together they have been charged with bringing stability to the union.