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http://www.theherald.co.za/herald/news/n06_17112006.htm
By Derrick Spies
THE only people who will benefit from an unexpected deal brokered between SA Rugby and the Southern Spears that will finally see the franchise officially out of Super 14 rugby, are the Spears‘ attorneys.
SA Rugby‘s acting managing director Bazil Haddad said the Spears had agreed to abandon the High Court ruling on August 4, allowing the Spears to participate in the Vodacom Super 14 next year and in 2008.
In return, SA Rugby would settle the Spears‘ legal costs.
“This does not mean the Spears will be excluded forever,” Haddad said.
“We are committed to seeing a Super 14 franchise for the area, but they will definitely not be able to participate next year,” he said.
Documentation, seen by The Herald, has revealed that the settlement only includes the Spears‘ legal costs, amounting to R827 000, and does not include any payment of Spears staff or players, who have not been paid since April.
An irate Spears chief executive Tony McKeever had accused the Spears legal team comprising advocate Norman Arendse and Michael White, of Lexicon attorneys, of acting without a mandate.
“We were led to believe that the deal had been put forward by SA Rugby when in fact it was tabled by the Spears legal team, initiated by Arendse and White, who are simply looking after their own interests because they want to be paid. You simply cannot reach a settlement that only takes care of the legal costs. What about the players and the employees who have not been paid for months?”
McKeever said if the settlement went ahead, it was likely players and employees would file to have the funds attached, and he would also legally challenge the agreement on the basis that it was done without a mandate.
White denied McKeever‘s allegations, saying that a teleconference between the Spears‘ legal council and Spears board representatives had been held on Tuesday evening which included Spears chairman Aldy Meyer, McKeever, Stag Cronje, Sipho Sintu as well as EP representatives Pat de Silva and Phillip Joseph.
“We were given a clear, unequivocal mandate to pursue a settlement agreement, by unanimous agreement from all those who participated,” he said.
Arendse said discussions on the issue had been taking place between the legal team and Meyer over the past two weeks, which McKeever had not been included in because “no-one believes a word he says anymore”.
Arendse said up until now the only payment the legal council had received was R100 000, paid by EPRU. He said he had taken the proposal to seek financial relief for the players and employees to SA Rugby, but had been turned down as McKeever and other staff had already lodged CCMA claims against the Spears franchise and SA Rugby. Meyer did not want to comment.
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