The Blue Bulls Rugby Trust (BBRT), which looks after former Blue Bulls rugby players in need, hosted a multipurpose gala dinner in Centurion last week.

The main purpose of this dinner was to raise funds for the trust, while it would also serve as a tribute to legendary Blue Bull lock and oldest living Springbok, Frik du Preez, who will turn 90 on 28 November this year.

Unfortunately, Du Preez, who is also the patron of the BBRT, was unable to attend the dinner due to a setback in his wife’s health.

However, guests at the dinner did not have long to be upset about the rugby icon’s absence, as the guest speaker, Dr. Johan van Zyl, co-CEO of African Rainbow Capital (ARC), which is one of the controlling shareholders in the Blue Bulls Company (BBCo), made some worrying statements in his speech.

Van Zyl informed the guests without mincing his words that the current governance model for professional rugby in South Africa is not working and is certainly not sustainable over the long term.

According to Van Zyl, the Bulls’ situation is the best proof that his statement is correct. The team has performed the best of all South African participants since entering the United Rugby Championship (URC) in the 2021/2022 season, reaching three out of four finals, of which they hosted one. Yet the Bulls’ participation in this competition still resulted in a loss on the BBCo’s books.

According to Van Zyl, a union like the Bulls cannot be operated profitably on the current model and this means that the two shareholders (ARC and Remgro) must contribute up to R20 million per year to keep Loftus Versfeld’s gates open.

He also took a swipe at the South African Rugby Union (SARU). According to him, this national organization does not do enough for the franchises, while they are indirectly the largest source of the SARU’s money and the suppliers of the players who help build the Springbok entity.

He also referred to the fact that South Africa has won two consecutive World Cups, but that SARU is not properly using this fact to reward franchises for their contribution.

Van Zyl is convinced that new ways will have to be found to generate money from the assets currently at their disposal. Not only from the Bulls as an entity, but also from Loftus Versfeld as a stadium and from the management of their soccer partner, Mamelodi Sundowns.

According to Van Zyl, the partnership between the Bulls and Mamelodi Sundowns is the only reason why it is currently still attractive for a company like ARC to invest in rugby.

While ARC owns 37% of BBCo and manages it together with Remgro (37%) and the Blue Bulls Rugby Union (26%), they own a controlling stake in Mamelodi Sundowns, who also use Loftus Versfeld as their home ground.

– Apart from the opportunity that guests and Blue Bulls legends had to reconnect, the dinner was also a success in terms of the fundraising effort. An auction of memorabilia raised a large amount of money, while ARC and other sponsors and strategic partners of the Blue Bulls also made contributions.

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