PRO14’s expansion plans could kill off Super Rugby

The PRO14’s aggressive expansion programme, aided by a huge injection of new cash, could sound the death knell for an already ailing Super Rugby competition.

If the ambitious plans of private equity group CVC Capital materialise, the Isuzu Southern Kings will soon be up against the Bulls, Sharks, Lions and Stormers in Guinness PRO14 derby clashes.

Thanks to a new R2.7bn investment by CVC Capital partners in the PRO14, the 14-team tournament is looking to expand and lure SA’s Super Rugby giants into their fold.

CVC Capital have made no secret that they want SA’s Super Rugby teams to head north and play in Europe.

This is bad news for Super Rugby, which many feel has become a lacklustre spectacl that has reached its sell-by-date.

Though the Kings and Cheetahs are in their third year of play in the PRO14, the European-based five nation tournament has yet to grab the imagination of the SA rugby public.

Small crowds have attended PRO14 matches in Port Elizabeth and Bloemfontein, as SA fans battle to embrace the tournament.

However, if SA’s Super Rugby teams join the PRO14, there will be a huge spike in crowds at the Nelson Mandela Bay and Free State stadiums.

CVC are also exploring the possibility of a Club World Cup tournament.

Because the CVC deal is for stakeholders only, SA Rugby Union clubs will not feel an immediate benefit.

The first to feel the affect will be  Celtic League origin clubs, and not recent sides that joined the previous PRO12 competition.

The Saru clubs are board members of Celtic Rugby DAC (PRO14 Rugby), but not stakeholders.

However, the long-term benefits to the Kings and Cheetahs are expected to be huge. 

They are also pressing ahead with plans to reshape global rugby, completing a deal for a stake in the PRO14 club competition and seeking to get a £300m (R6.4bn) Six Nations deal back on track within weeks, even as fixtures have been suspended during the pandemic.

The Luxembourg-based buyout group was forced to re-examine its appetite for deals in the sport at a time when matches are suspended and teams have been left struggling for cash.

However, its completion of a delayed £120m (R2.5bn) acquisition of a 28% share in PRO14 Rugby, an annual tournament featuring teams from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Italy and SA, is being seen as a green light.

Nick Clarry, head of sports, media and entertainment at CVC, said in a statement that the group had a “strong belief in the long-term potential of rugby for the fans, the players and the clubs, and what we can achieve in partnership with PRO14”.

The move is a sign that the buyout group has decided to stick with its strategy of backing rugby and will target further deals.

Its investment thesis is that the media and commercial rights of competitions that command the attention of millions of fans will continue to rise in the aftermath of the pandemic.

The PRO14 deal may also pave the way for an expansion of the tournament to include more SA clubs.

In addition, “greater collaboration” between competitions in CVC’s portfolio could create a springboard for a rugby “Club World Cup”, an insider said.

The PRO14  deal is CVC’s second transaction in rugby union.

It paid £200m (R4.2bn) in 2018 for a 27% stake in Premiership Rugby, the top tier of the English club game.

PRO14  Rugby CEO Martin Anayi  said the deal represented a “show of faith” on the part of CVC, which is persisting with investment plans across sport, even as fixtures have been suspended because of the pandemic.

In April, the Six Nations said it had “not agreed to either take a break nor to push through a completed agreement” with CVC but that discussions “obviously take into account the new environment”.