Rugby chief executives continue to be frustrated by the restrictions imposed on their operations through government’s extension of the national state of disaster.
It had been hoped the national state of disaster would be suspended and effective from Tuesday after its previous extension in February. Instead the national state of disaster has been extended until April 15, which means sports gatherings continue to be limited to 2,000 attendees.
The measures will continue to wreak havoc with sports federations’ bottom lines, and two rugby CEOs expressed their frustration at operating with one arm behind their back.
“How long is a piece of string?” asked Bulls CEO Edgar Rathbone rhetorically when quizzed about the negative impact on their business.
“Every week we miss with no or few fans back, other than the limited 2,000. We lose money.”
The local industry will feel it acutely over the coming weeks with SA’s United Rugby Championship (URC) teams involved in a string of home matches.
“We have a busy time until mid-April when they review it again. Hopefully there is another review that is going on outside the national state of disaster.
“We would have a good crowd in last Saturday for the Munster game at Loftus Versfeld with a 4pm kickoff. You can imagine the loss we made there. There’s plenty of rugby to come that will worsen those losses.
“You have to look at your bigger picture with your suite holders coming in. You can then start invoicing them.”
Rathbone explained how teams’ major expenses on match day, such as security and cleaning, even with a limited crowd, further drain their funds. The Bulls CEO finds it hard to follow the rationale for the extension.
“You see festivals, like music festivals, going on. We’re allowed to have a pre-match party at Loftus Park where people can drink and enjoy themselves but as soon as they come through the gates you can’t. It is quite strange.”
Sharks CEO Ed Coetzee has been long frustrated by the restrictions on the industry.
“It’s not ideal,” said Coetzee of the extension.
“It’s very disappointing that we are not being heard and considered.”

Xiaomi 12 Pro Full Specifications
General Features |
|
| Product Type: | Smartphone |
| Platform: | Android 12 (MIUI 13) |
| Processor: | Snapdragon 8 Gen1 SM8450 3.2GHz Octa-core |
| GPU: | Adreno 730 |
| Colours: | Black, Green, Blue, Pink |
| Dimension: | 163.6 x 74.6 x 8.16 (PU version 8.66) mm |
| Weight: | 205g (PU version 204g) |
| SIM Type: | Nano SIM |
| SIM Count: | Dual SIM |
| Announced: | December 2021 (Available in March 2022) |
| Models: | – |
Display |
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| Display: | 6.73-inch WQHD (3200 × 1440) 20: 9, E5 AMOLED LTPO, 120Hz, Dolby Vision, HDR10 +, Dolby Vision, ~89.6% screen-to-body ratio |
| Protection: | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus |
Camera |
|
| Rear Camera: | Triple, 50 MP (f/1.9, 24mm, wide, 1/1.28″, 1.22µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS), 50 MP (f/1.9, 48mm, telephoto, PDAF, 2x optical zoom), 50 MP (f/2.2, 115˚, ultrawide) |
| Rear Camera Features: | Dual-LED dual-tone flash, HDR, panorama, Video – 8K@24fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240/960fps, gyro-EIS |
| Front Camera: | Single, 32 MP (26mm, wide, 0.7µm) |
| Front Camera Features: | HDR, panorama, Video – 1080p@30/60fps, 720p@120fps |
Storage |
|
| Memory: | 8GB/12GB LPDDR5 |
| Built-in Storage: | 256GB UFS 3.1 |
| Memory Card Support: | No |
Battery |
|
| Battery: | 4600mAh |
| Fast Charging: | Yes (120W) |
| Others: | Fast wireless charging 50W, Reverse wireless charging 10W, Power Delivery 3.0, Quick Charge 4+ |
Internet & Connectivity |
|
| Technology: | GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE / 5G |
| 2G Network: | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 – SIM 1 & SIM 2 CDMA 800 |
| 3G Network: | HSDPA 800 / 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 CDMA2000 1xEV-DO |
| 4G Network: | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 32, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 48, 66 – International 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 18, 19, 26, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42 – China |
| 5G Network: | 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28, 38, 40, 41, 66, 77, 78, 79 SA/NSA – International 1, 3, 5, 8, 28, 38, 40, 41, 77, 78, 79 SA/NSA – China |
| Network Speed: | HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A, 5G |
| WLAN: | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot |
| Wi-Fi Hotspot: | Yes |
| Bluetooth: | Yes, v5.2, A2DP, LE |
| NFC: | Yes |
| Infrared Blaster: | Yes |
| USB Port: | USB Type-C 2.0, USB On-The-Go |
Audio & Video |
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| Music Player: | MP3/WAV/eAAC+/Flac player |
| Video Player: | XviD/MP4/H.265 player |
| FM Radio: | No |
| Loudspeaker: | Yes, with stereo speakers (quad-speaker tuned by Harmon Kardon) |
| 3.5mm Jack: | No |
Navigation |
|
| GPS: | Yes, with A-GPS. Up to tri-band: GLONASS (1), BDS (3), GALILEO (2), QZSS (2), NavIC |
| Maps: | Yes |
Sensors & Control |
|
| Digital Compass: | Yes |
| Accelerometer: | Yes |
| Proximity Sensor: | Yes |
| Light Sensor: | – |
| Barometer: | Yes |
| SpO2: | – |
| Pedometer: | – |
| Heart Rate Monitor: | – |
| Gyroscope: | Yes |
| Fingerprint Scanner: | Yes (under display, optical) |
| Face Unlock: | Yes |
| Intelligent Digital Assistant: | Yes |
| Motion Sensing/Gesture Control: | Yes |
| Voice Control: | Yes |
Other Features |
|
| Video Streaming: | Yes |
| Active Noise Cancellation: | Yes |
| Wireless Charging: | No |
| Built-in Mobile Payment: | – |
| Water Resistant: | No |
| Dust Resistant: | No |
| Image Editor: | Yes |
| Video Editor: | Yes |
| Document Viewer: | Yes |
| Document Editor: | Yes |
| Others: | High Resolution, 4G VoLTE, 24-bit/192kHz audio, Speakers Tuned by Harman Kardon, Color spectrum |
Xiaomi 12 Pro – Review Video