Two unrelated articles came out in the last two weeks.
Interestingly, they were on the same subject but from different but inter-related vantage points.
One was an expression of fear by Mihlali Mpafi, a Border Bulldogs player, who shared his and his teammates’ fears as a result of the financial woes of the Border Rugby Union.
Mpafi told us that “some of us are breadwinners, some of us have just got married . . . ” and “we use playing on the field to market ourselves”.
He stopped short of stating the obvious, that if the Border Rugby Union had been liquidated, their lives and careers as rugby professionals would have ended, the lives of their families would have been decimated. They faced the ignominy of failed dreams and careers
As if that was not enough, yet another article reported on a French entrepreneur and investor in rugby.
Late in 2017 it had been strongly rumoured that he was courting the Southern Kings and intended to purchase a stake in the company.
That was great news for the Southern Kings because, after all, every international rugby club requires an equity partner with very deep pockets. It is not just necessary, it is an imperative.
My hopes came to a thunderous collapse when he emphatically dispelled the rumour that he had plans to buy equity in the Southern Kings.
With that so public a pronouncement, an all too often disappointment revisited the Eastern Cape.
These two stories characterise the life and state of rugby in the Eastern Cape.
One depicts the precarious life of the talented players, the other a dearth of sponsorship and investor prospects for rugby in the Eastern Cape.
The great paradox is that the Eastern Cape has 40% of the rugby-playing population, yet we are the perennial underachievers, because both the Border and Eastern Province unions are not sufficiently attractive to private investors – nor to sponsors – and that is while the trend in the country is that the financial architecture of rugby unions is built on the Saru distribution, an equity partner and a consortium of sponsorships.
Rugby in the Eastern Cape does not attract blue-chip sponsors nor does it have equity partners to inject the necessary capital to make viable sports brands.As a consequence, it has difficulty retaining local talent and finds it equally difficult to attract foreign talent. Indeed, young rugby talents emigrate out of the Eastern Cape as early as their high school days.
The Southern Kings, who are participating in international competition against well-resourced clubs from Ireland, Wales, France and Italy in the PRO14, are stunted in their growth by lack of financial resources that match their competitors.
The Cheetahs, the other South African franchise competing in the competition, have been able to give great account of themselves in the 2017-8 season because they are reasonably well resourced.
Why must anyone make all of this their business, one may ask?
Let me be bold as to say that every member of society with a panoramic view of their town, city, region and country must and ought to feel challenged to take the situation by the scruff of the neck and change it around.
It is in the enlightened self-interest of the Eastern Cape and South Africans of vision to change the situation that prevails in the Eastern Cape rugby world.

At an emotional level, it is the Eastern Cape that gave rugby to South Africa and so it should never die in the Eastern Cape. The Eastern Cape is the rightful, or ought to be, the logical custodian. After all, rugby was first played at eGazini, in Grahamstown in 1864.
At a rugby level only this region can produce sufficient numbers to make rugby lose its historical racial stigma. Only the Eastern Cape can remove the race politics from rugby, merely by providing rugby talent right up to the Springboks.
At the centre of all famous cities and city regions of the world are sports brands that have saved those cities during the difficult economic times. Liverpool and Manchester come to mind.
Sport is an industry, it spawns related industries, it stimulates mega-events. It creates both employment and entrepreneurial opportunities...