Golden Lions in perilous situation.

Brenden Nel, SuperSport

Luyt, who built the Lions — then Transvaal — into a multi-million rand empire and retired in 2000, leaving them financially sound, uttered his disbelief at the current state of affairs to internet station Ballz radio.

According to Luyt, when he retired the Lions had “R85-million in cash reserves and no debt” — a far cry from the R80-million in the red that the Guma group claimed in court papers against the Lions earlier this year.

The Times reported a transcript of Luyt’s comments, where he predicted the Lions would go into liquidation soon.

The Lions were ousted out of the Super Rugby competition by a Saru general council decision last week and then lost an arbitration hearing. On top of this they have a disciplinary hearing pending against their coach John Mitchell and another outstanding court case pending with former coach Dick Muir.

“It’s not a question of what’s happened to the Golden Lions Rugby Union but rather a question of why people allowed it to happen,” Luyt told internet radio station Ballz radio.

“The brand was fantastic and in 1996 when we signed the Murdoch agreement (which funded Super Rugby and the Tri-Nations), according to the people I dealt with the finest union in the world was the Transvaal Rugby Union, which is now the GLRU.

“With all due respect, how can you let a fantastic union like the Lions go down the drain like they did? I can only assume that people who were in charge didn’t know what they were doing and what rugby was about.

“The money was there. But somehow or other the decision was made to use the money for junior rugby and other poor business decisions.”

WHERE IS THE MONEY?

Luyt said the Lions are now “technically bankrupt”.

“There was no plan, no bloody plan. What the hell did they do all that time?

“Where is the money? How the hell can you lose that much money? It’s there to be invested and earn more money. You lose it only if you’re stupid enough to lose it,” he said. “I’ll tell you one thing, if the GLRU owes more money than it can pay, it will have to go into liquidation.

“It’s painful for me to contemplate that it could be sequestrated and closed down because it was the finest and strongest union in the world not so long ago.”

Luyt urged the Lions to put egos aside and find good investors to save the union.

“This crisis can be solved but it will require clear heads and no egos. I would find good investors and they could rebuild the Lions to its former glory. No one’s asked me to help and I don’t know if I could, but there are people out there who can help.”

After being excluded from Super Rugby, the Lions lost their arbitration hearing with the Leopards and Pumas, having to cough up R2.565-million to the Leopards for unpaid franchise fees and the possibility of another R6.6-million to still be decided. But Luyt has his doubts they can even keep this obligation.

“I don’t know how they are going to pay that money because they don’t have it.”

“The thing is, it can be salvaged.

“It calls for clear heads and [they must] forget about the egos. I would find big investors who call the shots and they could help rebuild the Lions to the best union in the world. No one’s asked me to help yet and I don’t know if I could, but there are people out there who can help.”

* For clarity’s sake we will publish the transcript of the interview with Luyt, as accurately as possible. The sound quality was problematic at times and because of his age (Luyt turns 80 this year) some words weren’t all that clear!

“It’s not a question of what’s happened to the GLRU but rather a question of why people allowed it to happen,” Luyt told Ballz radio.

“The brand was fantastic and in 1996 when we signed the Murdoch agreement [which funded Super Rugby and the Tri-Nations], according to the people I dealt with the finest union in the world was the Transvaal Rugby Union, which is now the GLRU.

“They allowed that to go. With all due respect, how can you let a fantastic union like the Lions go down the drain like they did? I can only assume that people who were in charge didn’t know what they were doing and what rugby was about. I presume I know what rugby is about … but let me not dwell on that matter.”

Asked where it all went wrong, Luyt said: “When I left, I left them with R85-million cash and no debts whatsoever. The money was there. But somehow or other the decision was made to use the money for junior rugby and other poor business decisions.”

Asked if he felt that the Lions’ current dilemma can be resolved, Luyt again pointed to the R85-million that was in the bank.

“They don’t have the money – as far as I heard, I’m talking under correction here, some of the money went haywire … where is the money? How the hell can you lose that much money? They had R85-million, if you take [invest] that at say 10 percent, that gives you R8.5-million [per annum], then you had the suites, the season tickets … you could have done anything, you could have done wonders with that union. People decided otherwise – rugby politics won the day and rugby lost forever.

“It’s there to be invested and earn more money. You lose it only if you’re stupid enough to lose it,” he said.

Luyt was also asked about a decision not to move away from their Doornfontein premises, the Ellis Park stadium, which is situated in an area that has become crime infested over the years.

“We would have,” he said, when asked if they considered moving, adding: “We had an offer for Ellis Park and we would have gone to Kempton Park and we would have had a fantastic stadium there – about 70,000 people and we would have sold all the suites. We did our calculations, like business men, and we would have been a wonderful union, but we didn’t get there.”

Asked if it can be turned around, amidst all the doom and gloom, Luyt said liquidation is a possibility.

“I’ll tell you one thing, if the GLRU owes more money than it can pay, it will have to go into liquidation. The directors and managers [of the GLRU] will have to consider this. It’s terribly painful for me to contemplate that it could be sequestrated and closed down because it was the finest and strongest union in the world not so long ago.

“Unless they did that [go into sequestration] they are gone.”

Asked how he felt about the fact that the biggest city in the country can’t sustain a team, Luyt said he can’t believe it.

“What we needed to do … and I am well out of the way – I would have gone to a number of very big [businessmen] and say: ‘Let’s make this union the best in the world.’ You can do it without too much money. I would have put a plan forward to them. There was no plan, no bloody plan. What the hell did they do all that time?”

Then he was asked if anybody had contacted him from the GLRU and he said De Klerk’s predecessors were trying to find a way to blame him, Luyt, for losing the money.

“How do you lose R85-million” You lose it only if you overspend. I’ve had discussions with Kevin [de Klerk]. He is a fantastic man, he is a great guy. There couldn’t be a better person than Kevin, as a man, for the Lions.

“You have to understand business. For me he does [understand business] and I hope he doesn’t listen to this [broadcast] and gets annoyed with me. I think he’ll understand it. The fact of the matter is, unless they say: ‘We have gone far enough’, they will lose it forever. Then there will be no Lions, no GLRU … nothing. The thing is, it can be salvaged.

“It calls for clear heads and forget about the egos. I would find big investors who call the shots and they could help rebuild the Lions to the best union in the world. No one’s asked me to help and I don’t know if I could, but there are people out there who can help.”