Local unions in South Africa have reportedly been hit with high hosting costs by South African Rugby for the hosting of Springboks Tests in 2024.
According to City Press reports SA Rugby is looking to recover R85 million with the Bulls and Sharks expected to offer around R15 million whilst the Test in Cape Town and Johannesburg will cost the respective unions R20 million each.
The payouts
R15 million will be made from the remaining two Tests with the Pumas paying R10 million for the Argentina clash and the Cheetahs R5 million for the historic Test against Portugal.
The massive costs have thrown the viability of hosting Springboks Tests into question with some administrators not convinced it produces financial results.
“Due to the high hosting fees, you actually can’t host any Test profitably unless you have a good relationship with the local municipality,” one administrator was quoted as saying. “Since the Test represents an economic boost for your city and region, one hopes your municipality will contribute financially to the guarantee amount that must be paid so that unions can make money from hosting tests.
“Unfortunately, not all franchises have those relationships with their municipalities. One hopes franchises will be informed earlier about the guarantee amounts for the respective Tests going forward.”
New season
The 2024 Springboks season has seen a number of changes, including the return of mastermind Rassie Erasmus to the head coaching position following Jacques Nienaber’s departure to Leinster.
Irishman Jerry Flannery, who collaborated with Erasmus at Munster, has joined the setup, and he will replace Nienaber as assistant coach for defensive duties. Another coaching change that made room for Tony Brown, a former All Black, to be selected to lead the Springboks attack was Felix Jones.
The world champions play Wales at Twickenham to start their Rugby World Cup campaign, and they then play Ireland and Portugal in the mid-year Test matches. Next up is the Rugby Championship, followed by the year-end tour. closing out the season.
Springboks fixtures
Saturday, 22 June: SA vs Wales (Twickenham, London)
Saturday, 6 July: SA vs Ireland (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria)
Saturday, 13 July: SA vs Ireland (Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban)
Saturday, 20 July: SA vs Portugal (Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein)
Saturday, 10 August: Australia vs SA (Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane)
Saturday, 17 August: Australia vs SA (Optus Stadium, Perth)
Saturday, 31 August: SA vs New Zealand (Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg)
Saturday, 7 September: SA v New Zealand (DHL Stadium, Cape Town)
Saturday, 21 September: Argentina v SA (venue TBC)
Saturday, 28 September: SA v Argentina (Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit)
16/17 November: England v SA (Twickenham, London – date TBC)
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