Mark Alexander has been re-elected for a four-year term as President of the South African Rugby Union ©SARU

Mark Alexander has been re-elected as president of the South African Rugby Union (SARU) for a four-year term at its annual meeting in Cape Town on Friday.

Alexander was opposed by Advocate Andre May, the President of the Leopards Rugby Union.

He had been originally elected unopposed in October 2016 following the resignation of Oregan Hoskins as President.

Alexander thanked the SARU General Council for their vote of confidence and claimed that continuity was good for the sport in South Africa.

"We are all very aware of the tough period that South African rugby has been through since 2016 when we endured what we refer to as a perfect storm, but I believe we have turned the corner," he said.

"We embarked on a turnaround strategy to get our organisation back on track and we now have some continuity to deliver that strategy."

The SARU last month reported a pre-tax loss of SAR33,3-million for the 2017 financial year.

Alexander attributed this to the controversial failed bid for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

The World Rugby Board had recommended that South Africa be awarded the event but the Council - made up of Member Federations - chose France instead. 

Newly re-elected South African Rugby Union President Mark Alexander has admitted the success of his tenure will be judged on how the Springboks perform at international level ©Getty Images
Newly re-elected South African Rugby Union President Mark Alexander has admitted the success of his tenure will be judged on how the Springboks perform at international level ©Getty Images

"We knew from the onset that this would not be a quick-fix, but a committed two and a half year strategic process," he said. 

"But people judge us only on the performance of the Springbok team - we know that and we accept that. 

"I believe that we are going in the right direction under the auspices of our new director of rugby, Rassie Erasmus, and that we will see the results on the field in due course."

Alexander had also led Durban's successful bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The South African city had been awarded the event by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) at its General Assembly in Auckland in September 2015.

They were stripped of the event, however, in March 2017 following their failure to meet a series of financial deadlines.

The event was awarded instead to Birmingham in England. 

Francois Davids was also re-elected in the role of SARU Deputy President for a two-year term, having been opposed by Jan Marais of the Griffons Rugby Union.

Hein Mentz, President of the Mpumalanga Rugby Union, and Lindsay Mould, a former President of the Free State Rugby Union, were also elected to four-year terms as members of the SARU Executive Council.