South Africa: Springboks and SARU Won't Repeat Banyana Debacle As RWC Financial Incentives Are Settled

26 July 2023
Daily Maverick (Johannesburg)
By Craig Ray

The Springboks' off-field financial expectations for Rugby World Cup 2023 were settled months ago, ensuring the squad will go to France with only rugby performances to worry about.

There will be no eleventh-hour posturing and threats of a strike by players. There will be no heavy-handed threats of punishment by blazered officials over players' financial demands before, during or after Rugby World Cup (RWC) 2023.

That's because the players who make the cut for the 33-man Springbok squad to defend their world title in France in September and October have sorted out the vital remuneration details.

Earlier this month, Banyana Banyana players refused to play against Botswana in a Women's World Cup (WWC) warm-up game at the Tsakane Stadium in Ekurhuleni. There were several reasons -- the state of the pitch and the quality of the opposition were two aspects that angered players, but the most pressing was financial.

The players wanted more financial guarantees from the South African Football Association (Safa), which led to an ugly stand-off. The issue was only resolved when the Motsepe Foundation stepped in to bail out Safa.

The World Cup-bound 23 SA women will each receive their guaranteed player stipends from the global governing body, Fifa, plus an additional R230,000 from the Motsepe Foundation. The standby players will also be awarded this fee. The technical staff will be granted R150,000 for...

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