SA Rugby becomes URC shareholder

CAPE TOWN - The South African Rugby Union on Wednesday became the United Rugby Championship (URC)'s sixth shareholder.

SA Rugby now joins the Irish, Italian, Scottish, and Welsh rugby unions, and CVC Capital Partners, as shareholders in Pro Rugby Championship DAC, the company that runs the league.

SA Rugby CEO, Rian Oberholzer, hailed the move as a "red letter day for South African rugby" and said he looked forward to growing the competition with his new partners.

"This is red letter day for South African rugby and marks the completion of a journey that began eight years ago when we first contemplated a northern hemisphere future. There have been doubters over the years but the vision we shared with Martin Anayi and the URC team has now come to pass and we look forward to growing the competition as full partners with our colleagues in the north.

"The competition has gone from strength-to-strength and with four different winners in the first four seasons of our participation, it has proved itself as arguably the most competitive league in rugby. It has been good for our rugby and we look forward to many more years of success."

CEO of the URC, Martin Anayi, explained that the URC teams would now work closer with SA teams, partners and broadcasters to elevate the league.

"From a fan’s perspective, nothing changes. But from a business standpoint, our URC team will now work even more closely with South African teams, partners, broadcasters, and stakeholders to continue elevating the league. This alignment across both hemispheres will create day-to-day efficiencies and open the door to exploring new ideas at a faster pace.

"On behalf of our chairman, David Lynn, and the rest of our board, we extend our thanks to Rian Oberholzer, Mark Alexander, and the team at SA Rugby for reaching this point. Our five territories remain fully committed to the URC’s vision, and we look forward to building on the successes of the past four years."