Bump this post before it disappear from the list.
No winners in SARU boardroom battles
Tue, 23 Feb 2016 19:31
EXCLUSIVE: Jan de Koning spoke to lawyer Frikkie Erasmus
about the on-going boardroom saga that is ripping South African rugby apart.
To metamorphose a well-worn adage: 'The South African Rugby Union is
fiddling while the country burns.'
That is the only conclusion one can draw if you closely follow the
in-house battles that are busy splitting the national controlling body.
While all their rivals are planning for a year of success on the playing
field, SARU's brains trust are engaged in a tug of war for the control of the
national body.
The central figures are SARU President Oregan Hoskins and CEO Jurie
Roux.
Media reports in the past fortnight have been littered with claims of
conflict, disaccord and factionalism throughout SA Rugby.
Some provincial presidents have expressed their support for Hoskins.
However, there are just as many reports claiming the majority of the provincial
presidents are supporting Roux.
Frikkie Erasmus - the lawyer for Roux and Rassie Erasmus, the General
Manager: High Performance Teams of SARU - is convinced the various agendas at
play are doing untold damage to the brand that is SA Rugby.
Erasmus himself has been dragged into the saga when he was accused of
inappropriately benefitting financially from supplying nutrition products to
SARU.
In an extensive interview with rugby365 Erasmus pointed
out numerous flaws in the reports accusing him of having sold these sports
supplements to SARU for 'hundreds of thousands of rands' over the past two
years - without paying SARU the standard license fee for using the valuable SA
Rugby logo on these products.
He said it is all part of a campaign to
discredit his client, as the boardroom battles go into overdrive.
And he is adamant rugby is suffering as a result
of these boardroom battles.
"New Zealand know who is their coach, they
have all their players in place," Erasmus said.
"Instead of us appointing a coach, who can
start getting the players ready, they are occupying themselves with this
rubbish," he said of finding a replacement for Heyneke Meyer, who was
forced out late last year.
The appointment of the new Bok coach would most
likely take place in late March or early April - with Ireland set to arrive in
June for a three-Test series.
"I simply can't believe I am front page
news, based on incorrect facts, while universities are burning and there are
massive problems in the country, but those are relegated to Page Four,"
Roux said of the weekend reports that accused him of improper behaviour.
"People like Rassie [Erasmus] and Jurie
[Roux] need to get things in place and plan for the incoming tour.
"Those guys [Ireland] are already playing
[in the Six Nations].
"Before
we can clear our eyes another year is gone and we are closer to the next World
Cup.
"It is a great pity and while this is
continuing, rugby is suffering."
Erasmus is adamant that nothing untoward
happened in the whole supplement process.
"A year ago this was launched with much
fanfare in the media and you won't do that if you have something to hide - that
is absurd," he told rugby365.
He explained that they imported products
from America to the World Cup at their own cost last year.
"We work on taking SA Rugby forward, into
the future," he said, adding: "That is one thing about Rassie
[Erasmus], his vision is to take SA Rugby forward and he always looks ahead to
where he can improve the game, how can he get the guys [Springboks] ahead of
New Zealand and Australia."
He also said that the delay in the situation
with the University of Stellenbosch - who are accusing Roux of having been
involved in the misappropriation of funds to the tune of ZAR35-million while
employed there prior to joining SARU - is not their doing.
The accusations, based on a draft KPMG report,
commissioned by the University of Stellenbosch, have also been central to the
split in SARU.
"Jurie [Roux] wants to get to court,"
Erasmus said, adding: "He can't talk about it or say anything, so we want
[the matter] to get to court as soon as possible.
"The summons was issued in June last year,
we pointed out certain problems and it took them three months to correct.
"We asked for more documentation in
December, and they have not produced that.
"If it
is such a big amount, you would think they would want to get him in court as
soon as possible.
"We have to make all the moves to get to
court.
"I suspect that they hope by then he has
thrown in the towel. The delay can be laid solely at the door of the university."
He said the accusations levelled at him in the
supplement saga are more about sensation and people with clear agendas.
"There was a need identified by [former
Springbok coach] Heyneke Meyer to get safe and clean supplements for the
Springboks," he said, pointing out that this request came in the wake of
the Chiliboy Ralepelle and Bjorn Basson doping saga in 2010 - when they were
sent home after traces of a banned substances was found in a supplement used by
the Bok squad.
"After a very comprehensive process it [the
BokPulse range] was developed in conjunction DuPont [United States], one of the
biggest multi-national chemicals and health care companies in the world, along
with academics at the University of Stellenbosch biochemistry department.
"Instead of focusing on the positive
aspects of the product, sensation is created around so-called hundreds of
thousands in profit being made.
"It is an extremely expensive process as
only the best products were used to ensure it is safe. Every batch produced is
sent to LCC in London to be tested and certified to ensure there is nothing
untoward.
"There has been so much written about the
problem of illegal supplements at school level and this was developed with the
view that it is also safe for the use of school boys."
Erasmus said it was developed at great cost and
he would love to recoup the losses.
He also dismissed the notion that he is
improperly benefitting from not paying for licensing of the product.
"This is not just a case of having the SARU
branding plastered on a product, it is something that was specifically
developed for SARU, at the request of management, who saw the need for a safe
and clean product range.
"It is just logical that when you supply
something to SA Rugby you don't pay royalties, because if you do you have to
add that to the price to recoup that [the development costs]."
He added there has been nothing yet on which
royalties can be paid.
Erasmus said there is "absolutely no
doubt" there is an agenda surrounding the Jurie Roux saga.
"It will take me a week to explain
it," he said, adding: It is unbelievable and I know who are behind this
campaign.
"They just want their own people in place
at SA Rugby [SARU].
"It is a continuous attack and a sad
situation."
The next episode in the saga is set to play
itself out in Johannesburg next week, where a meeting is expected to held under
independent chairmanship with Hoskins not presiding.
There have been rumours of provincial presidents
planning to bring a vote of no confidence against Hoskins.
