More lies and deceit at the SWD Rugby union resulted in a game having to be ‘postponed’ because of a player strike for the first time in South African Rugby History.
We reported a couple of weeks ago on the sorry state of affairs at the union which has seen the players being held ransom for months now with salary disputes and non-payment thanks in large to SWD’s recent sponsorship and ownership deal with Bunker Capital.
At the center of the controversy is suspended SWD president, Stag Cronje who himself has been accused of acting more in favour of Bunker Capital, than SWD rugby.
The problems have been compounded with Cronje challenging his suspension in court, which has left everything hanging in the air until the matter is resolved.
The players at SWD has had enough though.
Intervention from SARPA seems to have amounted to very little, where last we heard they would approach the CCMA to resolve the player-pay dispute and contract issues with players.
The latest crisis comes amidst reports that the players’ contract insurance, and medical insurance has not been paid, leaving them at risk of losing their contracts and months of pay should they get injured in training or a match.
The fees have apparently been deducted from the player’s salaries, but never paid over to the relevant accounts or funds to cover for these insurances.
Where the players before were undecided whether to carry on or strike against the union, the latest developments saw them unite as one and inform the union that they would not take the field in a match that was supposed to be played this weekend past Saturday until the issue is resolved.
Worst of all, the game was against an Argentine invitational team that is taking part in the Vodacom Cup competition.
The match was officially ‘postponed’, but for the first time in history a game had to be called off because players refused to take the field.
One just wonders how long these embarrassing issues from the union will be allowed to continue before real action is taken against the administrators?
The more things change…the more they stay the same… 🙁
The Stormers also threatened to strike once before a Super semi final… 😆
@2
Just to play in the end , and get their arses handed to them in any case…eishh 😳
On a serious note…someone should sort out these clowns sooner than later, but I suppose there are more important things to tend to now…like the upcoming elections… 😯
So where is the leadership from Saru?
What have Saru got to say about this?
@5 tight head – Told you, they are to busy with the elections…
Oi…. this is nothing to laugh about.
SARU should have stepped in jonks ago…. and still has’nt.
GBS,
This is disgusting and an embarrassment to rugby in this country, not to mention an embarrassment for the people of SWD and the region.
SARU has no rights to step in. Hoskens did made himself available last week as negotiator to bring the fighting parties together. If there is no sincerity to find a solution, the parties will keep on fighting until there is nothing left to fight for.
It is a weel known fact that there is a lot of fighting in the SWD club matches. To me it seems that on field fighting has now entered the offices as well.
8@ Morne – It is more than disgusting, it is actually a sad state of affairs.
Hope the people without shit for brains step in and salvage the Union in turmoil.
9@ dWeePer – There are ways and means of stepping in… there are many ways to kill a cat.
This saga has gone on for many moons, and to offer a negotiator last week only is months behind the time, if not years.
Seems the Stag Cronje’s and those who “Ousted” him all do not have the best interests of SWD in mind, rather it is a political and pure power struggle.
It is shameless.
#9,
Incorrect.
SWD is a member union of SARU, SARU has every right to discipline, even suspend member unions.
But the question is…why don’t they…? ❓
Blouste,
That a trick question?
When Boland were in their deepest troubles a while ago, having lost the financial backing of the sponsors due to the sponsor shanannigans things never went as pear shaped as what SWD are doing to themselves now.
This is the lowest form of greed and power hungry mudslinging imagineable…
No seriously… what’s stopping them…?
I suppose what stops them is the fact that players and coaching staff will be the inevitable victims, one really have to feel for the SWD players, they are being farked around no end!
Votes are at stake, and who votes in the presidential elections???
GBS,
Correct, but the Boland situation was because people outside the union screwed up – at SWD currently, it is people inside the union that are screwing up.
18@ Morne – Yip, that’s why I said, they’re destroying themselves from within…. they are playing “Wie se pielletjie is groter”!
@ 18 – So I was right all along… 😆
Can’t imagine that in the so called “professional era” things can escalate to this…
It does’nt bode well…
I’m not realy in touch with the players at SWD, but can one expect a mass exodus to other unions…
If they go down, cant the Kings be the new union?
Probably will never go so far, but these days nothing would suprize me…
What I mean is that surely they get money from SARU, and will it be possible to scrap the union and give those funding to the Kings ?
23@ Blouste – The Kings are an amalgamation of Unions… a Franchise.
Grootblou, if you and your wife fight in your house, please tell me what are my ways and means to interfere.
# 24
O yes, hence the S15 inclusion they are looking for…sorry forgot that part…
@% @ dWeePer
I suppose if you in some way basicly owned a part of them or regularly funded them and they belonged to your orginization…then you can intervene…
Johannesburg – Springbok No 8 Pierre Spies has cautioned against high expectations for the Vodacom Bulls this weekend in their Vodacom Super 14 match against the Highlanders.
Much is expected from the defending champions as they return from a weekend off to face the New Zealand side, especially after the Highlanders lost 33-0 to the Stormers last weekend, but Spies, now fit again after injury kept him out of the Waratahs game, was erring on the cautious side.
The reason is simple. Last year, in Dunedin, the Bulls arrived full of confidence after dismantling the Hurricanes in Wellington a week earlier, and met a physical and intense Highlanders side that hit them hard. The Bulls lost 36-12 that day, and Spies remembers it well.
So much so that much of the team talk this week is about not letting the standards slip, and making sure a repeat of last year’s performance doesn’t happen again, especially with the Highlanders sure to come out firing to make up for their poor performance in Cape Town.
“We have to make up for last year,” Spies said, “In Dunedin; they really came at us last year and gave us a good beating. This year we will take some aspects out of the Stormers game and their other two games and concentrate on making sure we play our best rugby this week.
“The Stormers played really well against them, but we expect the Highlanders to be a lot better this week once they get to Loftus.” Spies admits while it is nice to be on top of the log after four rounds, there are still a number of weeks ahead in the competition, with the Bulls still not close to where they want to be in this competition.
“We’ve had a good three weeks, but technically we can improve a lot, especially in the standards we want to reach as a team. We set very high standards for ourselves and while the results have been good for us so far, we want to attain the standards we set for ourselves,” he explained.
“The fact that we are conceding so many points is not a good sign for us; luckily we have scored a lot as well. It is definitely something we’re working on – it doesn’t help to score fifty but to let in so many on the other side. It is a focus point for us, to tighten up the defence but to continue scoring on attack.”
As for the injury, Spies smiles when he says he is “itching to play again” but concedes there is a bigger picture at play.
“Any rest is always good in a tough competition like this and for me the break came at a very good time. I’m really itching to get onto the field again and can’t wait,” he adds.
“It’s nice that we’re still on top, but it can change so quickly, so we need to keep out momentum and ensure we win our home games while we are here to give ourselves that advantage. Anything we can do to make the team win is all that matters.”
Good to see what the general feeling in the camp is…
Give it your all and don’t let go of your grip…
25@ dWeePer – My wife, Handbriekie, will moerrrrrrrrrr you if you interfere…. then I will moerrrrrrr you…. hehehehe
Your analogy, although comic, is inacurate though!
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