Lions president reveals crucial Super Rugby meeting on Friday

A much clearer picture on the immediate future of Super Rugby could be expected by this coming weekend, Golden Lions president Neville Jardine hopes.

“Obviously the commercial side is vital,” said Jardine, who succeeded Kevin de Klerk as Lions president at the end of last year after serving 25 years on the chairman’s council and nine years as the union’s deputy president.

“But we are set to have a conference call on Friday with Sanzaar, who will then direct us on the possible road ahead.”

With the competition forced to a standstill because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Jardine admitted there was still a lot of uncertainty about the 2020 Super Rugby season.

“At this stage it’s obviously nervous times with nobody exactly sure what the future will hold, but hopefully we can get some guidance about what’s in store for us, with various possibilities being investigated by the SA Rugby Union (Saru),” he said.

The Lions were still able to pay the salaries of their employees and players this month, and this area was being handled by Lions chief executive officer Rudolf Straeuli.

Rudolf Straeuli (CEO) of the Lions during the Emirates Lions media briefing at The White House on January 16, 2020 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images)

However, Straeuli warned in official correspondence sent to staff at the end of last week that cost cutting couldn’t be ruled out in future.

With doubt surrounding the future of the game, however, Jardine believed the Lions and other franchises could be looking for financial assistance from Saru and government.

“It’s currently not just Super Rugby’s future which is in doubt, but we are also looking at other levels like your club rugby and the amateur teams who will need assistance,” he said.

“Obviously there are protocols in place which will have to be followed before we get a definite ans wer.”

Jardine, the son of anti-apartheid activist and former Springbok selector Bill Jardine, is employed by a global biopharmaceutical company, and he admitted they were aware that the sport of rugby was not alone.

“I was involved in a teleconference with overseas roleplayers of the biopharmaceutical company and in this company it’s especially countries like Spain and Italy who count among those which are the hardest hit by this pandemic,” he said.

“So it’s obviously very uncer-tain times for everyone.”

For more sport your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.