Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie. Picture: Oupa Mokoena / Independent Newspapers
The Springboks have brought tremendous joy to Mzansi over the years.
They have won the Rugby World Cup on four occasions, and those were significant nation-building events in every respect.
The 1995 triumph on home soil started the glorious journey, with captain Francois Pienaar’s Boks beating the All Blacks in extra time in a dramatic Ellis Park final.
John Smit led the Class of 2007 to the Webb Ellis Cup by edging out England in a Paris title decider, and then came the Siya Kolisi double – in 2019 in Japan, and in France last year.
We all enjoyed the trophy tours that followed each of those magnificent victories, but imagine if everybody across South Africa could watch every Bok Test?
This issue has hit the headlines after the recent series against Ireland was not broadcast on SABC at the last minute, after they pulled out of a deal with SuperSport, due to a problem about the games being broadcast on eMedia’s Openview platform as well.
This has led to Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie and Communications Minister Solly Malatsi trying to sort out the matter with all the role-players.
But it is not such a straight-forward situation as putting the matches on free-to-air channels.
MultiChoice and SuperSport pay huge amounts of money to secure the TV rights for all the major sporting events across the globe, and their variety is virtually unmatched, as many other countries utilise a pay-per-view option where viewers need to fork out for particular events.
SA Rugby have also come out strongly in support of MultiChoice and SuperSport, as they made clear that the funds they receive from the broadcaster plays a big part in ensuring the Boks are – and remain – world champions.
Kolisi and stars such as Cheslin Kolbe, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Handré Pollard command huge salaries from overseas clubs for their prowess, but there are still many top players based in South Africa, such as Eben Etzebeth, Damian Willemse and Kurt-Lee Arendse, who are paid jointly by SA Rugby and provincial unions.
Let’s hope that McKenzie, Malatsi and the broadcasters can find a solution, so that all Bok fans can cheer on Kolisi and his team from wherever they are.
Cape Times