The Lions and SA Rugby are set to continue the fight for Franco Mostert after the lock made his Gloucester debut this weekend.
The Springbok lock has been caught in the middle of a contractual dispute between Gloucester and his former franchise, who complained to World Rugby about ‘irregular player movement’.
Mostert was, however, included on the bench for Gloucester’s Premiership clash against the Worcester Warriors, and made his debut in the 71st minute of the match, which Gloucester won 36-16.
According to Rapport newspaper, the tussle over Mostert is not quite finished as the Lions and SA Rugby will approach World Rugby to reconsider its decision after it found that the 28-year-old had not broken any rules in his discussions with Gloucester.
The Lions are allegedly frustrated that the Premiership club announced Mostert as their player before his contract with the Johannesburg-based franchise had expired. They also wanted a transfer fee before they were willing to let Mostert go.
Gloucester head coach Johan Ackermann, who mentored the Lions between 2014 and 2017, questioned the Lions’ desire to keep Mostert after the win against the Warriors.
‘I’m surprised that they did it because why didn’t they do the fight for Jaco Kriel and Ruan Dreyer or Faf de Klerk or any other player that left them in the last two seasons?’ Ackermann told GloucestershireLive.
‘I’m surprised more because I thought every player and every person has got free will to choose where he wants to go so.
‘If I sign a contract and it ends on a certain date or time, surely I can make a decision on my future forward,’ Ackermann added. ‘Regardless of when that contract was decided, the view is that person made a conscious decision, my next chapter in my life is with X, Y and Z.’
Photo: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
