Competition Commission probes Saru over rugby ticket complaints

The Competition Commission has confirmed it is investigating allegations of unfair business practices against the South African Rugby Union (Saru) and some of its affiliated agencies responsible for selling tickets for suites at rugby matches.

Recently, some hospitality businesses accused Saru of commercial greed and making hospitality suite packages available only to Saru’s appointed commercial rights agencies, such as Sail and Megapro Hospitality.

Competition Commission launches investigation

It is alleged that the ticket crisis at DHL Stadium in Cape Town, where the Springboks played the second of four Tests against the All Blacks on Saturday, was caused by commercial greed reportedly practised by Saru.

Saru denied the allegations and accused the objecting agencies of selling tickets they did not have.

Competition Commission spokesperson Siyabulela Makunga said the commission received a complaint against Sail Rights Commercialisation in May 2026, “surrounding Saru’s ticketing distribution system. The commission is currently investigating the complaint.”

In a previous interview, Saru claimed they were not aware of the allegations, but the complaining companies emphasised that before the matter was reported to the commission, Saru was alerted to it.

Business disputes Saru’s version of events

One of the affected business operators told The Citizen: “This is completely untrue. The Saru CEO received formal, detailed complaints outlining these systemic issues well before the England Test match.

“In fact, the CEO actively responded to some of these specific communications. For SA Rugby to now issue a public statement claiming total ignorance is a blatant misrepresentation of the facts to the media and the public.

“SA Rugby is hiding behind semantics to distort the commercial reality. Their primary commercial partners, including Megapro and Sail, regularly utilise a network of secondary subagents to move and sell hospitality inventory.

“Many independent operators purchased legitimate packages through these official channels. They did not ‘covertly insert themselves’ – they bought inventory authorised by SA Rugby’s own ecosystem, only to be subjected to blatant favouritism where preferred operators received preferential treatment, while others were starved of their allocated inventory.”

Monopoly allegations

One of the complaining companies’ owners, who asked not to be named, said SA Rugby’s anticompetitive monopoly has gone on for far too long and it has finally broken the industry.

By tightly restricting access to an inner circle, SA Rugby has stifled fair trade and damaged the broader South African tourism economy, the business owner said.

“The market cannot regulate itself when a single entity holds absolute power and uses it to penalise independent businesses. This has reached a tipping point and that is why we are formally calling on the Competition Commission to step in, investigate these practices and act to break this monopoly.”

When asked how the issue should be resolved, he said they demand full transparency from Saru.

He added they must account for the preferential allocation of inventory through Megapro and Sail, and explain why warnings sent directly to the CEO before the England Test match were ignored.

“More importantly, we welcome an independent investigation by the Competition Commission to ensure that access to South African rugby matches is open, fair and free from monopolistic bullying.”

Concerns ahead of the FNB Stadium Test

The Citizen has been reliably informed that the crisis witnessed at Cape Town Stadium might happen again this week for the match at FNB Stadium.

Packages range between R7 995 and R9 995 per person, excluding VAT, for both last weekend’s Cape Town Test and Saturday’s third Test at FNB Stadium in Soweto.