...Winning the 2007 World Cup in France should have been a tremendous boost to South African rugby. Instead it has been a curse.
The owners of the French clubs, a legion of dishonour, watched the players on TV and set out to poach them all.
There are currently 14 South Africans playing rugby at Montpellier alone. Three of them are called du Plessis. Incidentally the Brumbies have also lost three key players, lured by coach Jake White. There are Fijians, New Zealanders, Samoans and Georgians thrown into the mix. But South Africa suffers more than anyone.
Gio Aplon is at Grenoble. Willem Alberts is at Stade. Bryan Habana, Juan Smith and Duane Vermeulen are at Toulon. There are three Van der Merwes scattered about. As a result of all this poaching, the big game is dying on the veldt. The South African provinces are no longer competitive and the fans are heading for the exits.
Even the players are on strike. The ludicrous idea to add a sixth South African team to Super rugby, when the existing five can't even function, is already in turmoil. The Kings, aka Eastern Province, couldn't find a big enough sponsor and so didn't pay its players for two months. Under siege, the new franchise called in armed guards and padlocked its doors.
The Kings' brilliant solution to the crisis was to shuts their doors and open new offices 100m down the road. The South African Rugby Union, who are ultimately responsible for another fine mess, have stepped in and formed a new holding company. A new chief operating officer has been appointed and an initial (firing) squad selected.
One player has taken to social media to threaten legal action. Back from France with his fiancée to play for the Kings, Michael van Vuuren wrote on Facebook, "Despite a petition and a plea from the players, it is now clear to me that the executive cannot resolve the issues. The non-payment of monies due to me for October and November have left me financially embarrassed.
"I am no longer in a position to rely upon my friends and my family. The broken promises and continued financial issues as well as the constant reference to liquidation has rendered my position untenable. Unfortunately the executive is in material breach of my contract and in the circumstances I have no choice but to cancel my contract and exercise my legal remedies."
- Stuff


