As a former tearaway hooker, new SA Rugby president Mark Alexander is acting within the confines of his character with his dog-with-a-bone approach to his job. As in his playing days, he is hoping the rest of the pack follows as he tries to overhaul an administrative structure in desperate need of a shake-up.He is trying to drag an organisation with its foundations in amateurism into the full embrace of professionalism.For that to happen, however, Alexander, who was yesterday installed as president, with Francois Davids as his deputy, needs buy-in from the private sector as much as he does from union chiefs."In our franchises we are going to encourage greater equity participation," he said."We want to make rugby more professional. We are going to have a committee that manages and controls all professional rugby."He said a stake of up to 74% of individual franchises might be made available to private investors.He seems bullish about getting the nod from the unions' bosses, but he is also aware of what turkeys think of Christmas.Rugby, as he envisages it in this country, needs to have clearer lines of distinction between the professionals and the amateurs."In the new structure we will have two additional independents. We'll have four independent board members, with a fifth coming from My Players (players' representatives) and six elected people."He believes last week's coaching indaba was "a breakthrough", because of the high levels of co-operation from the delegates.He is sanguine about SA Rugby getting the nod from the government to stage the 2023 Rugby World Cup. But to get the green light the body needs to meet transformation targets."We are on target for the government when they measure us in May next year. All our national teams have met their targets."We need to bring this competition home. It is good for the country. Nine percent of our GDP comes from tourism. The bulk of that comes from sports tourism."I also have a 100-day plan but I cannot talk about it until I present it in our December meeting," the SA Rugby president said.Alexander seems ahead of the pack and it is a sad indictment on South African rugby that he may have to slow down...