Renaldo Bothma says the Mzansi Rugby League is “not going to be bullied by SA Rugby”.
The former Namibia captain and ex-Bulls loose forward officially launched the MRL last week. The 16-team nationwide competition, set to kick off in 2027, will offer players salaries of R15,000 to R30,000 per month plus premium medical aid.
Bothma says the project has been unfairly branded as a breakaway by SA Rugby and met with resistance from the players’ trade union, MyPlayers.
“The label that SA Rugby has put on this league is false,” he told Rugby365. “Mzansi Rugby League is not a rebel league. SA Rugby calls us a ‘breakaway’, but we are a pathway for younger players. That system is broken, and there is no pathway.
“Some players only play five to 10 games a year. We want to create opportunities for them and hopefully become a feeding ground for the smaller and bigger unions.”
MORE: SA Rugby rejects local breakaway league
Bothma says he initially had positive talks with union CEOs and SA Rugby, but that engagement stopped abruptly when their legal department sent a letter refusing to recognise the MRL.
He was also angered by an email from MyPlayers warning professional players that they could face “lifetime bans” if they participate in unsanctioned competitions.
“Are they really doing their job by threatening people?” said Bothma.“The players we are targeting are not MyPlayers clients, but players who have fallen through the cracks.”
The MRL has foreign backers, and Bothma confirmed they are exploring legal options to challenge SA Rugby and MyPlayers’ stance.
“We are not going to be bullied by SA Rugby. We won’t allow false statements to be put out to the media or sent to players,” he said.
“We are creating opportunities that never existed before. We haven’t asked SA Rugby for funding – just to play under their laws and regulations, and we will respect them as the custodian of the game.”
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