02/10/2026
๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ก | ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐จ๐ฅ๐ก ๐ง๐ข ๐ฅ๐จ๐๐๐ฌ ๐
Almost 20 years after beginning her career at Megapro, Lara Verbaan returns to the business as Megapro's United Rugby Championship (URC) Partnership Manager, working alongside Brad Guymer, General Manager of Rugby.
Laraโs career has spanned commercial partnerships, sponsorship, events, stakeholder engagement and sports development, with rugby remaining a consistent thread throughout her journey. Having worked closely with key individuals and organisations across the rugby landscape, she brings a strong understanding of the commercial environment and the relationships that underpin the game.
More recently, her work with Awaneo Management & Consulting and Izimfunda NPC broadened her perspective across the sporting ecosystem โ from grassroots participation and talent identification to athlete development and high-performance sport. This experience has strengthened her belief in the potential of South African sport to unlock greater commercial value, strengthen talent pathways and create meaningful opportunities for athletes and communities.
In her new role, Lara will work with the wider Megapro team to provide commercial partnership support services to URC by co-ordinating with South African clubs, sponsors and broadcasters.
The role brings together many of the elements that have shaped her career: a long-standing connection to Megapro, a passion for rugby and experience across both the commercial and development sides of sport.
Laraโs return marks an exciting new chapter โ bringing the experience and perspective gained throughout her career back to where the journey began.
๐ช๐ฒ๐น๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐ผ ๐ ๐ฒ๐ด๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ, ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ! ๐
