Flip van der Merwe

Flip van der Merwe

It has emerged that a contractual dispute with the South African Rugby Union (SARU) is the reason behind Vodacom Bulls lock Flip van der Merwe making himself unavailable for Springbok selection.

Bok coach Heyneke Meyer earlier this week said Van der Merwe was “unavailable for international rugby at the moment”.

The reasons behind Van der Merwe’s unavailability were described as “personal”.

However, Van der Merwe and SARU are at loggerheads because the player feels he was done an injustice when Springbok contacts were awarded.

Unlike lock partners Eben Etzebeth, Victor Matfield and Pieter-Steph du Toit, Van der Merwe apparently did not receive a similar national contract.

Van der Merwe will apparently only make himself available for Springbok selection once the dispute is settled.

Flip is the 2nd Springbok player involved in a contractual dispute with SARU in the last year. Cell C Sharks utility back Francois Steyn also made himself unavailable for the Springboks after failing to reach an agreement with SARU last season.

128 Responses to Springboks: Contract dispute behind Flip’s unavailability

  • 31

    Hondo wrote:

    Flip doesn’t owe anything to the Boks or to HM
    He has the option to start earning hard currency in August while not been offered a similar SARU contract to that of Matfield and Etzbeth, it’s not that complicate 😉

    Yes, but he also has the option of still going to France and earn Euro AS WELL AS still playing for the Boks on a test by test basis and being paid per test.

    Did he want a contract with the Boks as well as a contract in France?

  • 32

    It seemed to me that Jurie Roux and Co already came to terms that with the prospect of a new quota the Boks chances are nil or next to it, their sensible step would be to cut their losses?
    Just another possibility?

  • 33

    Speaking of lawyers

    Have YOU had to walk 500 miles?
    Were you advised to walk 500 miles?
    YOU could be entitled to compensation.

    Call the Pro Claimers NOW.

  • 34

    @ nortie:
    31
    Nortie, it’s too convoluted and no visibility to what actually happened there,
    My prediction is if any of HM locks goes down, Flip will ask and probably get a similar RWC contract to that of F. Louw , a Win-Win situation?

  • 35

    Flip’s attitude changed when Victor returned, you could see it in his body language

    He was a senior player and started every game for the Bulls, I think he might have been captain a few times as well

    When Victor returned he was the junior again and wasn’t guaranteed to start either, much like Bissie under Smit at the Boks

    Flip’s odds of playing in the WC diminished as well with Eben, PSDT and now Victor in the picking order ahead of him

    I think he made the right decision

  • 36

    @ Hondo:
    I don’t see why SARU should pay him for a year, injured or fit, if they might only need him for 1 or 2 games.

    If he isn’t in their long term plans, then they are under no obligation to offer him a contract. But, they can still select him if he was available, and pay him match fees.

    The fact that he is not willing to play on an ad hoc basis, well, people will differ on their opinions of whether the player is right or wrong

  • 37

    Attention GBS…….since Saturday I have been unable to load photos. What’s up with that?

  • 38

    Hondo wrote:

    It seemed to me that Jurie Roux and Co already came to terms that with the prospect of a new quota the Boks chances are nil or next to it

    I think you might be on to something there

    This might be the last WC where we’ll be competitive if they continue with their quota plans

    The benchmark of beating the AB’s every now and then will be replaced with a rare win over Ireland or Wales

  • 39

    37 @ nortie:
    You mean like this?

    Attachment:

  • 40

    There is of course another train of thought….throughout history players have been dropped, and most of them vowed to fight hard and to regain their spots.

    Similarly, Flip could have chosen the path of attending the training camp, playing and practicing his arse off thereby making himself unmissable to the Boks and earning his contract back.

    I suppose in the professional era that’s just too much trouble, just pack up and sign a fat contract in France or Japan and give up on the Bok jersey, no effort required and the monetary reward makes up for it?

  • 41

    Victoriabok wrote:

    Hondo wrote:

    It seemed to me that Jurie Roux and Co already came to terms that with the prospect of a new quota the Boks chances are nil or next to it

    I think you might be on to something there

    This might be the last WC where we’ll be competitive if they continue with their quota plans

    The benchmark of beating the AB’s every now and then will be replaced with a rare win over Ireland or Wales

    Trust me he’s not on to anything.

    😆

  • 43

    36 @ nortie:
    I get what you are saying.

    I think this could be settled with 2 facts.

    Flip signed to go to Clermont after which SARU told him…”sorry we cant pay you if you play in a forein league and earn much more than we can pay you anyway”… just because Flip has a sense of entitlement, in which case, aurevoir.

    OR

    Flip signed to go to Clermont because SARU offered him a shitty contract lower than what Eben and PSDT got offered even though Flip is only 29 years old and still has a lot to offer he also does not have to prove anything to SARU, or suck up to them just so he can play for the Boks and so just bend over.

  • 44

    1 fact*

  • 45

    42 @ nortie:
    As you’ve just seen, I have posted one… here is another

    Attachment:

  • 46

    43 @ MacroSssss:
    Yep, these type of situations will always lead to various opinions.

    Bottom line, it’s the player’s decision.

    I wonder when SARU will wake up and start counter suing the players claiming that if they weren’t Boks in the first place they wouldn’t have received such high offers.

    SARU can claim a percentage for increasing the player’s market value 😆

  • 47

    @ grootblousmile:
    Ek kry die boodskap….Not Found
    Apologies, but the page you requested could not be found. Perhaps searching will help.

  • 48

    @ nortie:
    Ek sukkel ook, het nou n .png and mp3 files probeer en kry dieselfde error.

  • 49

    47 @ nortie:
    Maak jou browser cache skoon.

    Anybody else with the same problem? If so, which Browsers do you use? Have you tried another Browser?

  • 50

    OK, hier gaan ek met Firefox, kom ons kyk wat maak hy… siende dat IE werk.

    Attachment:

  • 51

    46 @ nortie:
    You laugh but that is a seriously good suggestion when European clubs want to aquire SA rugby players. Make them pay a transfer fee to SARU?

    Then whats to stop SARU from capping every second player? 🙂

    Just can’t win.

  • 52

    Blykbaar, volgens wat gisteraand aan my meegedeel was in Johannesburg by ‘n webdesign vergadering, the Google Chrome probleme… die nuwe weergawe werk gladnie saam met Java Runtime Environments nie… en klompie ander kak en hare…

  • 53

    Selfde het gebeur met firefox

  • 54

    Dit is wat Java sê van die Google Chrome goed:

    NPAPI support by Chrome

    The Java plug-in for web browsers relies on the cross platform plugin architecture NPAPI, which has long been, and currently is, supported by all major web browsers. Google announced in September 2013 plans to remove NPAPI support from Chrome by “the end of 2014”, thus effectively dropping support for Silverlight, Java, Facebook Video and other similar NPAPI based plugins. Recently, Google has revised their plans and now state that they plan to completely remove NPAPI by late 2015. As it is unclear if these dates will be further extended or not, we strongly recommend Java users consider alternatives to Chrome as soon as possible. Instead, we recommend Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari as longer-term options. As of April 2015, starting with Chrome Version 42, Google has added an additional step to configuring NPAPI based plugins like Java to run — see the section Enabling NPAPI in Chrome Version 42 and later below.

  • 55

    Ek sal bietjie kyk of daar ANDER Uploader Plugins is wat ons kan gebruik… maar ek kry nie julle probleem gedupliseer nie.. het nou al deur 3 verskillende PC’s ook gegaan… een wat nog hardloop met XP 64-Bit, en dan ook my eie 2 PC’s wat op Windows 8.1 hardloop, met meer as 1 tipe Browser.

  • 56

    test

    Attachment:  pdf-test.pdf

  • 57

    selfde gebeur met IE

    sal maar kyk wat anders dit kan wees

    Attachment:  pdf-test1.pdf

  • 58

    57 @ MacroSssss:
    Duidelik werk PDF by jou, hy is nie veronderstel om PDF groot oop te maak nie.

  • 59

    No power

    😆

  • 60

    51 @ MacroSssss:
    I wouldn’t go so far as too say it must apply to every capped Bok….more a matter of those in whom SARU and the Bok coaching staff have invested a lot of time and money, including medical care etc.

    Once a player has accumulated at least 20 odd test caps over a period of say 2 plus years in the Bok set up, whether starting every week or just being on the fringes and touring with the group, he has obviously benefited from the experience and one could safely assume that he would be a better player for it, thus getting a higher profile and also making him a more popular choice to recruit.

    Sometimes the players seem to forget that being a Bok is mutually beneficial and they also score in the long run and maybe SARU should be thanked for upping their profile?

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