Cape Town - SA Rugby claims to have reached its targets based on the latest Eminent Persons Group on Transformation in Sport (EPG) report, released in Pretoria on Monday.

Rugby showed a 17% improvement to achieve 60% of the targets agreed with the Department of Sport and Recreation South Africa (SRSA) and the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), according to an SA Rugby statement.

The EPG sets a minimum target of 50% achievement as the measure of successful compliance.

It remains unclear which targets SA Rugby has reached - and which were missed.

"Rugby is succeeding in the transformation process and we’re pleased with the outcomes of the EPG report," said Jurie Roux, CEO of SA Rugby.

"We’re proud of the fact that rugby was the top performing federation from the five sports that were part of the pilot project in terms of transformation - we have worked hard to achieve our targets. We remain on track to deliver on our five-year Strategic Transformation Plan (STP), which we launched in 2015.

"Rugby in South Africa needs to continue transforming if it is to survive in our nation’s changing demographic landscape, as the report highlights. It is a business imperative for rugby as well as a high performance opportunity to access untapped talent.

"Our process is well mapped out and transparent. We know where we have to improve, but we remain confident of delivering on the agreed targets by the end of next year."

Roux said that the report highlighted that the greatest challenge to South African sports federations - rugby included - was the state of school sport.

"The report notes that only eight percent of learners in South Africa’s 25 000 public schools have any kind of access to sport," said Roux.

"Of that eight percent only a smaller proportion will have access to or play rugby.

"Meeting targets and unlocking potential will remain a challenge as long as that statistic remains unchanged.

"As the report says: 'Sport federations, whose lifeblood is structured sport participation at school level, rely on the support and cooperation of teachers, principals and parent bodies to organise and deliver sport at school because they simply do not have the resources to do so themselves, nor do they have any jurisdiction in the 25 000 schools in the country’."

Roux said that SA Rugby noted the findings in relation to The Transformation Charter, adopted at a sports indaba in 2011.

"We have noted our performance against the Charter measurements but as the EPG notes it is a 'one-size-fits-all' document and the MOU 'is a fairer and more accountable transformation measurement instrument'," he said.

"The Charter will remain on our landscape but we are a performance driven organisation and the targets in the MOU, driven by our unique circumstances, resources and long term view will continue to be our road map."

