SA Rugby to unlock new revenues as full shareholders in URC from next season

South Africa will see a bigger revenue picture when they become full partners in the United Rugby Championship (URC) from the end of June this year.

While the URC has treated the South African Rugby Union (SA Rugby) and the four franchises the way full members have been treated, CEO Martin Anayi confirmed this week they will be granted equity in the URC and European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) competitions.

SA Rugby’s status as a full shareholder promises better financial gains for them, with the mother body no longer required to pay annual participation fees to the URC. The broadcasting and sponsor revenue will now be redirected directly through the URC structure from which SA is set to benefit.

“We effectively treat the South African Rugby Union and the four franchises the same way we do all our members already,” Anayi said this week.

“They are on the same boards and committees. They have the same decision-making. The key thing is they become a full shareholder from the end of June and that is a process that is on-going. From the impact point of view, it is substantial, most importantly from a competitive point of view. We’ve had three finals in South Africa.

“Yes, we’ve had two away wins, but those teams (from South Africa) are super competitive, and we’ve seen over 34 000 tickets sold for the Bulls vs Sharks game (the semi-final at Loftus) already. We had a huge number of tickets sold (last week) for the Sharks game (vs Munster) in the quarter-final. There is a huge engagement which drives everything else.

“It is a very positive relationship with all of the stakeholders in South African rugby, and they want to be part of the league. They are putting the league first. That is a massive boost for the URC. It is fantastic, but ultimately it starts with the most important thing; competitively, those teams are right up there, and they are pushing standards.”

Anayi added that the addition of the South African teams made the league more competitive than before. He said it’s an important change in June, because South Africa becomes a full shareholder with it. Meaning, they will have equity in the league.

He continued that there is no indication that the local sides failed to live up to expectations in the tournament.

“That is a very hard argument to make seeing that SA had three finals in three years. I haven’t had that, and it is not something that’s been discussed around our table.”