SA Rugby has welcomed the ‘successful achievement’ of its targets in the latest report of the Eminent Persons Group on Transformation in Sport (EPG).

In a statement released on Monday, SA Rugby stated that there had been a 17% improvement to achieve 60% of the targets agreed with the Department of Sport and Recreation South Africa, the South African Sports Confederation and the Olympic Committee. The EPG sets a minimum target of 50% achievement as the measure of successful compliance.

‘Rugby is succeeding in the transformation process and we’re pleased with the outcomes of the EPG report,’ SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux commented.

‘We’re proud of the fact that rugby was the top performing federation from the five sports that were part of the pilot project in terms of transformation – we have worked hard to achieve our targets. We remain on track to deliver on our five-year Strategic Transformation Plan (STP), which we launched in 2015.

‘Rugby in South Africa needs to continue transforming if it is to survive in our nation’s changing demographic landscape, as the report highlights. It is a business imperative for rugby as well as a high-performance opportunity to access untapped talent.

‘Our process is well mapped out and transparent. We know where we have to improve, but we remain confident of delivering on the agreed targets by the end of next year.’

Roux said that the report highlighted that the greatest challenge to South African sports federations – rugby included – was the state of school sport.

‘The report notes that only 8% of learners in South Africa’s 25 000 public schools have any kind of access to sport. Of that 8%, only a smaller proportion will have access to or play rugby. Meeting targets and unlocking potential will remain a challenge as long as that statistic remains unchanged.’

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