SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux's lawyer is alleged to have sold hundreds of thousands of rands worth of supplement products to the organisation without paying Springbok licensing fees.
According to Rapport, Frikkie Erasmus – who has represented SA Rugby in legal matters in the past, as well as Roux and high-peformance general manager Rassie Erasmus – is the sole director of the company EE Sportconsult Nutrition, which has supplied various supplement products to SA Rugby under the BokPulse brand.
The products have been used by sides such as the Springboks and Blitzboks for over two years, but the decision to do business with a company whose director has close ties to Saru and members of their upper hierarchy has been called into question.
Although the BokPulse brand bears the Springbok logo and is described as an ‘officially licensed product of SA Rugby’, it’s alleged that no licensing fees have been paid as yet for the use of the brand.
The implications of another questionable ‘conflict of interest’ once again reflects poorly on the SA Rugby leadership, with Roux already standing accused of misappropriating R32-million during his time as chairman of the Maties Rugby Club.
The latest investigations into Roux are reported to have caused a split in the SA Rugby leadership, with the majority of SA Rugby’s provincial presidents believed to be in support of Roux, while opposing president Oregan Hoskins.
Roux was initially tasked with leading the process of identifying the top candidates for the vacant Bok coaching job, but Hoskins was said to have taken over that role following the allegations levelled at Roux.
The general council is set to confirm the appointment of the new Bok coach when they meet at the end of March, with delays in naming a successor to Heyneke Meyer having served as further cause for consternation in South African rugby circles.
Back in November, SA Rugby was forced to step in and enforce an emergency takeover of the Southern Kings Super Rugby entity after the Eastern Province Rugby Union slipped into dire financial straits that remain unresolved.
EPRU president Cheeky Watson will be expected to present a more complete picture of the various financial reports at a special meeting at the end of February when he is widely expected to face a vote of no confidence.
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