Warning: 'Don't do a Sonny Bill Williams'
Wed, 06 Aug 2008 08:57
Turning his back on Australia: Sonny Bill Williams
Rugby Union agents have been told they will be stripped of their licences in Australia - and face legal action - if they help one of their stars do a 'Sonny Bill Williams' and flee to France.
At a Rugby Union Players Association (RUPA) briefing on Monday, a gathering of 35 player managers were informed of the consequences for a client breaking a contract to chase big cash in French or British competitions.
Not only would agents be personally liable to legal action over a Williams-style walkout, they would also face losing the RUPA accreditation needed to represent Super 14 and Wallabies talent in Australia.
"If an agent who was accredited by us encouraged and promoted a player to breach his contract and go overseas in similar circumstances to Sonny Bill, we'd probably go close to disbarring him and revoking his licence," RUPA boss Tony Dempsey told The Daily Telegraph.
"It would be in breach of our code of conduct, which requires all players to adhere to their side of the contract.
"We also had a University of NSW contract law expert, Deborah Healey, in who said facilitating a player breaching their contract that they, too, could be liable."
The agents' briefing came as reports of Lote Tuqiri being approached by French club Bayonne emerged.
Tuqiri, who is under contract with the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) and New South Wales (NSW) until 2011, turned down the approach - and he didn't have any choice.
Unlike in the case of Rugby League star Williams, the International Rugby Board (IRB) has the power to block a Rugby Union player breaking a contract with one member nation to play in another.
"The only way it could happen is if a private club owner over there thumbed his nose at the IRB and the FFR [French Federation]," Dempsey said.
There is confusion about whether privately owned clubs such as Toulon and Bayonne fall under the jurisdiction of the FRR, but Dempsey believes the national body would ultimately wield influence "through political persuasion".
RUPA is in the process of negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement, however, that could see more stars take up overseas offers.
Many players are keen for the standard playing contract to change from starting and ending on December 31 to running from September.
But given Northern Hemisphere competitions start in September, Aussies would be more heavily targeted under such a move.
"It would align us with the northern hemisphere wouldn't it?" Dempsey told The Daily Telegraph.
"So there would be some resistance to that I'd suspect."
