Straeuli hints at legal action over signings
Lions CEO Rudolf Straeuli (below) hinted that the union may have to go a legal route, if the recently announced signings by the Sharks of Vincent Tshituka and Carlu Sadie, is not concluded amicably between the two unions.
Tshituka and Sadie have been two of the Lions’ star players this season and it was a big blow when the Sharks announced their signings during the past week.
However Straeuli insists that the Sharks have jumped the gun on the announcements and that more discussions still has to take place between the unions.
“Some of the announcements made in the media have been premature. I can confirm that Burger (Odendaal) has signed a contract with Wasps and his contract finishes in October, so we are still in talks on when he is going to leave,” said Straeuli.
“Those announcements (by the Sharks) have been premature and I am waiting for Edward (Coetzee, Sharks CEO), to get back from America and we want to try and solve this in an amicable way.
“Other than that we are reserving our (legal) rights. Vincent’s contract is only finishing in December and Carlu’s contract in June.”
Straeuli also admitted that the union was actively trying to sign players but due to financial constraints brought about by Covid and not being able to get fans into the stadium, has stunted their recruitment drive.
“We have to re-look at our system. Obviously we have been recruiting junior players for our junior competitions and the Currie Cup. But we also now have to recruit for the URC and we haven’t even played in the ERCC or European Challenge (International club competitions) yet,” explained Straeuli.
“So we are a bit thin and underdone, in numbers of players. But that’s been due to our budgets and Covid, so it’s not been easy. We have been growing a lot of our own junior players and only buying players when needed.
“It has been a very tough time financially. We have stayed close to our budget and stuck tightly to our guns. It has however been rewarding in that we have been able to develop our own players.”