Vodacom URC chief Martin Anayi said his biggest achievement during the past ten years, was when the URC included South Africa in the competition and he has credited the teams from the Republic for the value they have added, on and off the field.
“The South African teams have been tremendously successful in terms of performance and attendance, as well as financially and commercially."
“Pretty much anybody you speak to in the league will say they have raised the standard of the competition on and off the field and they will continue to do that.”
The financial value added by SA teams is a game changer according to Anayi.
"It’s millions, more than half our revenue comes from South Africa via television and sponsorship."
“They are also providing more value to EPCR, via Investec’s sponsorship of the Champions Cup. It is a huge part of the rugby economy for Europe.”
Anayi insisted that the increase in the travelling cost is very limited.
“It doesn’t cost that much compared to what it brings in. It is a very, very good deal.”
“Remember, we swapped out an Italian game for a South African game. Teams were already having to pay to go to Italy, so we just gave them a top-up to go to South Africa."
“The class of travel for our teams is something we need to address, moving to business class travel for the South African trips. Big guys need space.
“In terms of travel logistics, the regular season matches are not a problem. We know about those trips and book a long way out. It’s more when it comes to knock-out rugby. That can be hard."
“So, we can change our format in terms of having gaps in the play-offs. We can concertina the regular season and maybe start it a little bit earlier to give ourselves an extra week around semi-final and final.”