LIAM DEL CARME | Lions are stalking failure unless they shift business focus

The Lions’ business model has come under increasing scrutiny in the wake of their recent poor results. The Joburg franchise is feeling the heat with just one win in their last seven matches. Their last victory in the United Rugby Championship (URC) came on December 4, when they beat the Scarlets at Ellis Park, and while they downed the Dragons away to maintain a presence in the Challenge Cup, their cup isn’t exactly running over.

They are lagging in the South African conference of the URC, with the Stormers, the Bulls and the Sharks all likely to have a say in the top eight when the competition goes into its knockout phase. Moreover, it will cement those franchises’ passage into the more lucrative Champions Cup next season.

The Lions, who are languishing in 14th place out of 16 in the URC, are fast losing touch with the other SA franchises. The last time they won a derby was against the Stormers in Cape Town in December 2021.

These statistics are hard to stomach for their fans. They are long-suffering in every sense. Just to watch their team is an odyssey. Non-functioning traffic lights and potholes the size of craters dot the landscape around the stadium’s Doornfontein precinct, while the urban decay and everything associated with it make a trip to Ellis Park one that has to be undertaken with extreme vigilance.

Fans are tired of watching the team plod along and bemoan the lack of investment in the playing and coaching resources. The Lions’ business model largely revolves around developing from within and majority shareholder Altmann Allers told me that is unlikely to change. Allers is a shrewd operator and as founder and executive chair of Digicall, a business process outsourcing firm, he knows his way around the corporate space. He also knows huge profits are not to be had in the South African rugby landscape (mind you that holds true for most franchise owners throughout the rugby world) and he runs a tight ship.

Majority Lions shareholder Altmann Allers argues the other franchises don’t develop from within and is eager to point out success, as is also the case with professional team sports elsewhere, is cyclical.

Back in the day the Lions used the allure of the city of gold to attract the country’s top talent, now the team, and to be fair, the city, has lost its gloss. Allers questions whether the business model of the Stormers, Sharks and the Bulls, who have many high-profile players on their books, is sustainable.

The Stormers are of course slightly different in that they don’t have an equity partner and are operating under SA Rugby-enforced administration. Given their limited funds they have embarked on a successful retention policy, which has unsurprisingly yielded a positive return with players opting to continue their association with the URC’s champion team.

The Sharks and the Bulls have recruited with more alacrity, attracting talent from far and wide. Allers believes this to be folly.

From next season SA franchises have to operate within a squad R67m salary cap. They of course don’t have to spend all of it. It is unlikely the Lions will. Allers argues the other franchises don’t develop from within and is eager to point out success, as is also the case with professional team sports elsewhere, is cyclical. After he became a shareholder at the Lions 11 years ago, the franchise was fighting for its survival and forced to operate on a shoestring budget. They made significant cutbacks and assembled players who were deemed surplus to requirements elsewhere and gave them a common purpose, but moreover, coaches Johan Ackermann and Swys de Bruin endowed them with a battle plan that had opposing teams gasping for air at Ellis Park.

The Lions reached three successive Super Rugby finals without getting to lift the trophy. They did, however, boss the local conference and they won the Currie Cup. Perhaps holding on to the memory of those heady days Allers appears to be biding his time. The rugby environment is particularly fertile for player migration after a Rugby World Cup. That, however, might not be the case this year amid the prevailing trend of South African players returning home.

Lions fans will argue those who crack the whip at the franchise lack ambition. Allers has not lost sight of his return on investment and has to weigh up the virtues of silver and silverware. He hasn’t done so but might point to teams such as Exeter Chiefs and La Rochelle in the Premiership and Top 14 of teams who met success without breaking the bank.

With Allers in a previous interview making it clear he did not wish to involve another equity partner, Lions fans are doomed to more unedifying viewing. As much as those in charge crack the whip, the sky is not the limit for these Lions, not from under a big top.