In an Extraordinary General Council Meeting of SARU on Monday, they unanimously approved the adoption of a new constitution and the winding up of SA Rugby (Pty) Ltd as the final step in a process to unify the professional and amateur arms of the organisation. This has been talked about and on the cards for quite a while.

SARU will now handle the functions of SA Rugby (Pty) Ltd, whilst the Company will be dissolved and its commercial assets transferred to SARU.

The new rugby setup will be governed by an Interim Committee formed from the board of SA Rugby (Pty) Ltd and the Management Committee of SARU.

“There was a robust debate around some items of the constitution but I am very pleased that we had unanimous agreement,” said Oregan Hoskins, president of the South African Rugby Union.

“We will have a more streamlined and responsive structure as a result of this change and it bodes well for the future of South African rugby.”

The new organisation will in due course be governed by an Executive Committee for which elections will take place at the SARU Annual meeting in March 2010.

With SARU’s recent history of in-fighting and disorganised chaos in the board room, we will all follow this process with baited breath to see if it is indeed a new constitution or a new “Constipation”… let’s hope for the best.