An open letter to SARU President Mark Alexander: Fix ticketing before NZ tests in September, not after

SA Rugby says its ticketing review will fix things, just not until 2027. This is conveniently after the Boks' biggest paydays of the year, the New Zealand tests in September. BizNews tribe members and staunch rugby fans Rory Steyn and David Coutts-Trotter have crunched the numbers, and the "cost recovery" story doesn't quite hold up either..By Rory Steyn and David Coutts-Trotter.Dear Mr Alexander,We write in response to SA Rugby's media release of Monday, 13 July 2026, announcing that the union's ticketing strategy will be reviewed after the 2026 season.We do so as supporters of the game who have spent considerable time analysing SA Rugby's published financial statements over recent years. We welcome the release. The acknowledgement that some ticket categories need careful review, and the recognition that pricing must reflect accessibility as well as sustainability, is a genuine and constructive step. We commend it.But two aspects of the statement trouble us, and we set them out here in good faith.The first is timing. The review is to apply only to "the 2027 season and beyond." That leaves the current pricing structure — and the unresolved dispute with Loftus suite holders — in place through the Springboks' matches against New Zealand in September, the most commercially significant fixtures of the year. A review that takes effect only once the season's premium revenue has been collected addresses the concern too late to matter for the supporters and stakeholders most affected by it. If the pricing needs revision, the case for acting before those matches, not after, is strong.The second is a question of accuracy. The release states that SA Rugby's commercial strategies are "designed to cover the cost of running rugby in South Africa, not to increase profits," and frames Test pricing as a matter of financial viability. With respect, SA Rugby's own audited figures do not support the suggestion that Test matches are priced merely to cover their costs. In the 2025 financial year, the in-house Test-hosting model generated R402 million in revenue against R213 million in direct match-day delivery costs — a net contribution of R189 million from the matches themselves. Springbok Tests are not being priced to break even. They produce a substantial surplus.We say at once that there is nothing improper in that. A surplus from Test rugby is how unions the world over fund the parts of the game that cannot fund themselves — the women's game, development, and the broader rugby community. We support that entirely. But the surplus should be described accurately. To present premium Test pricing as cost-recovery, when the audited accounts show a margin approaching R190 million, is misleading, and it undermines the very trust the release seeks to build.There is a related question that follows from it. That surplus also underwrites the substantial annual distributions made to the member unions — distributions determined separately from match economics, and approved by those same unions. It is fair to ask whether the unions are being held sufficiently to account for generating their own revenue and managing their own costs, or whether premium Test pricing is quietly carrying shortfalls that should be addressed at source.We raise these points as friends of the game, not its critics. The Springboks are a national asset, and their matches should remain within reach of the supporters who make them what they are. We hope the coming review is conducted in that spirit — openly, on the evidence, and in good time..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox every morning on weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa's bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here.

An open letter to SARU President Mark Alexander: Fix ticketing before NZ tests in September, not after

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