Saints Q&A Part Two: CEO Mark Darbon

Here are more answers to some of the things Saints supporters will have been asking amid the current Covid-19 crisis...

How has Chris Boyd handled the current situation?

“It’s caught us all by surprise but Chris is great at thinking through all the implications and planning ahead, thinking about how we manage the playing group over this period of time. He’s thinking about how it changes if the postponements get extended and ultimately about how we ensure we get the group back and firing so when we start playing rugby, we can continue the momentum we’ve built over the past 18 months.”

How do you plan for something like this?

“It’s a case of just looking at the different scenarios. We’ve got an approach of looking at if we’re off for five weeks and we start playing again, that looks like this. If that postponement gets extended, it looks like this. It’s a fluid situation and we had a big meeting of all of our department heads last week and one of the messages I gave to the team is that we’re going to make a set of contingency plans right now and they’re valid for the period we’re entering into. But as leaders across our organisation we’ve got to be incredibly flexible because the plan can change. It’s certainly challenging, but I feel we’ve got good leaders on the commercial and rugby side to see us through it.”

Do you have a worst-case scenario prediction?

“We have to think through the doomsday scenario and the biggest challenge for us if the worst plays out is the financial challenge. It’s about how we continue operating over the medium to long-term. We’re confident even in the doomsday scenario that we can continue to run an effective business here, in part because we’ve got a strong balance sheet, we’ve got some cash in the bank but it’s going to require a lot of delicate thinking from our teams. I’d also ask for patience and understanding from our supporters. We want to be putting on a great show for them - that’s what we’re here to do, on the pitch and off the pitch when they come to experience Franklin’s Gardens. The fact we’re not playing at the moment creates a lot of uncertainty for them because a lot of them have generously bought season tickets and match tickets. Right now, we’re doing the right thing, which is saying ‘be patient, all of those things will be valid for the rearranged games’. It’s absolutely our plan to get rugby back on as soon as we can, but we’re going to need some patience and understanding.”

What are the options for people who have bought tickets?

“Right now, we’re asking people to wait until we can announce the rearranged fixtures. It’s the same approach as for the other clubs, the league and the stakeholders and it’s the same approach that’s being adopted in other sports, like football. Anything anyone has bought will be valid for those rearranged fixtures. Clearly, if those fixtures don’t take place or for the folks who have bought tickets to individual matches and they can’t make those rearranged fixtures, we’ll have a discussion with them and ultimately there will be a chance for them to get refunds. At the moment though we have to ask for some patience as we wait to see the impact on our season and when those rearranged fixtures take place.”

It’s a lot of money people shell out, isn’t it?

“We’re blessed here because people spend large portions of their disposable income coming to see Saints - they’re the heartbeat of our business if you look at it. Our job is to keep those supporters informed as best we can and we’d like them to demonstrate some patience and understanding as we work through these different scenarios.”

Are you looking at the other events you are supposed to be hosting at Franklin’s Gardens?

“We’re looking at all of our events and we had to cancel the celebratory dinner for the Heineken Cup winning squad. We’ve got multiple conferences and events and further ahead we have the rest of the season and concerts and other events. We had the Mobbs Memorial Match and we postponed that. We’re working with the armed forces to find another date for that later in the season. It’s having a really material impact on us right now.”

Does recruitment go on hold now?

“It's still going on in the background. Ultimately, we’ve got to be in a position to come back and challenge at the highest level. That means winning things and challenging for the major honours. While there is some turbulence in the immediate term, and we’re not sure how long it’s going to play out for, we have to still plan for the long term. We’ve done the vast majority of the squad in terms of our business for next season but there are still a couple of areas we’re looking to round out and we’re in good shape on that front. The work will continue in the background, but we’ve also got to navigate this short-term challenge.”

How frustrating is it for you personally because part of your brief was to get this club profitable again and now this comes along?

“It’s incredibly frustrating because I feel like as an organisation we’re making really good process. We’ve improved our performances on the pitch and that has been shown by some strong results. We finished in the top four last season, we’re right up towards the top of the table this season so on the pitch we’re progressing, even if we’re not quite there yet. Off the pitch we spent a long time as an organisation developing a five-year plan to return the club to profitiability and making sure we had a sustainable future. And as part of that, we had opportunities to really invest in our facility here at Franklin’s Gardens and recently we’ve been really looking at our master plan for this site and all the exciting things we can do to continue to develop that. It’s frustrating this is acting a short-term blip on this plan because I think it’s fair to say we’re ahead of where we thought we’d be on this stage. It’s incredibly frustrating because we’re having to pause some of that thinking, re-evaulate some of that thinking and ultimately make sure we get through this turbulent period as strong as possible. What I remain very confident about though is that because we’ve got great people here and we’ve got a great plan, we will come through it, potentially stronger because it forces us to think a bit differently in the short term. But we’re not quite sure how long this challenge is going to play out for.”

How much personal pressure do you feel and how are you handling it?

“It’s challenging and it’s been an intense period as we try to plan effectively for the future, but it comes with the role. I enjoy that aspect of the role and one of the reasons I enjoy it here at Saints is that I’ve got great people around me. If in my role you’ve got strong people around you, it makes it much easier than it would otherwise be. It’s challenging but we’ll continue to work through it.”

Can you reassure people that Saints will survive this, even in the doomsday scenario?

“Saints will be okay. We’ve got a really strong plan here, we’ve got good people and we will be okay. We desperately want to be playing a Premiership final at the back end of June. We’re still hoping for that right now.”