Brian van Rooyen

Yesterday, I got to speak with Brian van Rooyen for half an hour. Brian is the President of SA Rugby, in case you have no idea. The point of the conversation was to find out more about the charges of financial mismanagement and poor corporate governance at SA Rugby.

Brian all but admited that he was in the wrong in a number of the desisions that he has made in his tenure at SA Rugby. In fact, he went on to say that he admits to having broken the law BUT, he says that he would do it again.

This cuts to the quick of the matter at hand. Brian broke the law, he made disicions that he should not have. He didn't steal money but he made promises to a Springbok team that he was not entitled to. But rugb is in the best state it has been for a very long time. In his reign, the amount of awards the Springbok team have won from the IRB are more than ever before. There are more black players on the field now that there have ever been. The Super series of rugby has been expanded to such a point that we have an extra team waiting in the wings. Brian admitted that school and club rugby isn't as far along as he would have hoped, but, let's faxe it, when you are forvever in court cases and fighting for your position, who has the time?

Does all of this let us forgive Brian for his mistakes? That decision will be left not to you and me, the sport fan, but to the presidents of the rugby unions around the country. Which way will they go? Probably staying with van Rooyen. The thing that you and I don't see is the work that Brian does behind the scenes in his fight to stay in power. Unlike the DA vs ANC fight we see on the street posts, Brian said that he prefers to not fight in the press. His opposition fight in the press. All we see is one side.

But does the end justify the means? My answer is, "Sometimes."