KZN and WP presidents Graham McKenzie and Thelo Wakefield have called for decisive leadership from SA Rugby to address the damage being done to the image of the game.
SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux is currently at the centre of ongoing allegations related to his time as chairman of the Maties Rugby Club, a saga that is reported to have caused a split in the leadership and disrupted the process of appointing the next Bok coach.
Speaking to EWN Sport, Wakefield said there was certainly cause for concern, and called for SA Rugby president Oregan Hoskins to take ‘urgent action’.
‘We have to rebuild the image of Saru, nationally and internationally, and the sooner we get to the bottom of this whole thing and we take decisive action on it, the better for Saru.’
Wakefield said his suggestion would be to call a president’s council meeting to divulge all the information and plot a way forward.
‘We can’t all lose our heads and run around like chickens in a chicken-run. We have to get direction, we have to go and sit down and discuss the matter, fully, get some sanity back and take an informed decision on what the road ahead is all about.’
McKenzie agreed that ‘any rugby leader would be worried’ about the local game’s current state of affairs.
‘I do think that SA Rugby need to come together, show some leadership and make rugby decisions to ensure that the reputational risk to the brand isn’t any worse than it currently is.’
Photo: Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images
