Oregan Hoskins' seemingly unexpected decision yesterday to step down as SA Rugby president with 18 months left to run on his current term is really just a shuffling of the deck chairs at boardroom level. Hoskins has benefited from, and been a victim of, a political system in which one is likely to remove a dagger from one's heart with the left hand while plunging a knife into someone else's back with the right.He was effectively forced to jump after 10 years as president, but tears shouldn't be shed.Rugby politics are a series of deals and compromises and players are shape-shifting survivors who thrive in an environment in which personal gain often supersedes the best interests of the game.In fact, the entire concept of a president, when there is a CEO running the business of rugby, should come under review.Elected officials are an archaic throwback to the amateur era, but through the ironclad wording of SA Rugby's constitution, the system is unbreakable until the very people it protects (union presidents) choose to change it.Very few people can become CEO of a big organisation such as SA Rugby. They need qualifications and the right experience. But anyone can become president of SA Rugby. They simply have to be popular enough and could eventually become elected to a deeply influential and important position. That can't be right.In a statement yesterday, Hoskins said: "In recent months we have faced tough challenges and had some tough conversations which have made me think about my role and my future."So vice-president Mark Alexander will be the interim president until an election is held and, the business of rugby will continue seamlessly.Sources told The Times that Hoskins cited a "breakdown of trust" between himself and the exco as the reason for his decision to step down. He eventually just ran out of political capital. The EP Kings debacle became the weight that finally sank his career.Hoskins drove the inclusion of the EP Kings in Super rugby and their abject failure played a huge part in his downfall.He survived many gaffes, from forcing former Bok coach Jake White to select the controversial Luke Watson - by simply writing the player's name into White's squad before reading it out on live TV - to undermining first black Bok coach Peter de Villiers by confirming his appointment was politically motivated.The sad reality is that South African rugby's descent into mediocrity is unlikely to end with the removal of the president and the election of another political survivor. Only a complete overhaul of the system is likely to result in meaningful change...