What Might Be With CVC

CVC Capital Partners is almost a model of discretion. This Luxembourg-based private equity company which now owns a sizeable chunk of professional rugby via its investments in the PRO14, the Gallagher Premiership and, since money talks – sooner rather than later, the Six Nations does tend to maintain a low profile, as it concentrates in making oodles of money for its investors.

Donald Mackenzie of CVC

The main man in the company is, naturally where really big money is concerned, a Scot – Jersey-based chartered accountant Donald Mackenzie. This Donald keeps a low profile and not a lot is known about him, He is a Merchistonian, whose alma mater is the University of Dundee. One of his contemporaries while he was at Merchiston was, apparently, a certain John Jeffery, who has just been appointed Chairman of The SRU. Some might say, a case of real influence around Murrayfield switching from Old Fettesians to Old Merchistonians.

There was an interesting quote, regarding the CVC investment in Rugby in an Irish Times article which I read: “So as ever, there will be winners and losers. The world of rugby is already loaded towards the biggest unions. The best players will follow the money, wherever that might be.

A small number of people may be about to get very rich. But at what cost?”

CVC's previous major investment in sport was its ownership of Formula One motor racing. They paid £1.4 billion to buy F1 from Bernie Ecclestone in 2006, then ran it – with Ecclestone continuing to be the main man – until selling it to Liberty Media in 2017, for £8 billion. It is estimated they made a return of over 300% on their investment over those 11 years of ownership.

However, to quote from a Guardian article, reviewing CVC's ownership of FI, and speculating on how CVC might impact on Rugby: “There was pursuit of profit at every possible level but with apparently little interest in making the experience better or more popular. It was a distasteful, cynical process that left F1 tarnished.”

We should remember, however, CVC owned F1 outright,they are only, for the moment buying minority stakes in the various rugby competitions – a stake which will, however, give them a major say in decisions taken as to how to govern the game going forward.

In motor racing, they (CVC) were only running the absolute top world-wide competition, the double cream of the game. By taking a share in the Six Nations, the PRO14 and the Gallagher Premiership, they will have a say in how we buy single cream, milk and butter.

During the period when CVC ran F1, the world governing body, the FIA still ran world motor sport. They might have authorised the British Racing Drivers Club to run the British Grand Prix, but, they needed Motorsport UK on-board to make it work, while that body continued to run all those club events, the rallies, moto-cross meets, the karting events and so on – the grass-roots part of the sport from which came Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, David Coulthard, Colin McCrae, Andrew Cowan and so on.

It is one thing, being the absolute rulers of the richest tier of an expensive sport, both to participate in and to watch, and another thing entirely being a minority shareholder in three of the professional tiers in a global sport with deep community routes.

To make the sort of money and achieve the sort of returns they are used to achieving, CVC will need to be a bit more co-operative and perhaps less goal-orientated than they were accused of being while involved in F1.

What happens going forward, particularly in light of changes in the game's structure which we may see post-pandemic, will, I believe, ensure, we will be living in interesting times for a wee while to come.

We may yet see a major split with that part of rugby which can be sold on television and be attractive to the guys who handle the sponsorship monies of big business, the part which includes the very-best players and the major stadia, being split-off from the real heartlands of club and community rugby.

But, should that happen, and it is a distinct possibility, leet's hope the grass roots game does not sell its birthright too-cheaply so that it can continue to thrive and offer the real rugby experience of being a club member, with a say in the sport, rather than merely a spectator, paying for the privilege of watching better players.

OTHER THAN, maybe some fellow Borderer, on whom he had stood during a particularly fiesty Border League game, I cannot think of anyone with a bad word to say about our new SRU Chairman, John Jeffrey.

John Jeffrey

He is, as one of the 1990 Immortals , a National Treasure, and we all wish him well in his new post. But, and what a pity there has to be a but, his elevation to the Chairmanship has not been met with the ringing of bells and universal jubilation.

This is mainly because, JJ's transition from: “The White Shark,” permanently stretching the offside line to its limits and beyond, rampaging around the park knocking over opponents and spreading mayhem during his 40-cap Scotland career; helping to temporarily convert the Calcutta Cup to the Calcutta Plate; well, what red-blooded rugby-enjoying Scot could not warm to that guy.

John Jeffrey, co-opted member of the SRU Council, nominated SRU representative on the World Rugby Council, nominated Scottish Rugby representative on, and Chairman of Six Nations Rugby, well, that John Jeffrey is a different beast entirely – all those nominations, and not once having to stand for election by his peers within Scottish rugby – that makes JJ the ultimate insider.

To be fair, JJ is at the moment, only interim Chairman. But, as we know, once you're inside the BT Murrayfield bubble, at a high-enough level, it's very-difficult for you to be got rid of if you don't perform.

I have a lot of time for and confidence in JJ, but, I would like to see him, should his interim chairmanship prove to be a longer tenure, standing-up at the AGM and giving us, the poor bloody infantry of the game here, an idea of his vision and route map for the way ahead, which looks like being a particularly arduous, not to say rocky, road.