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Two Wallabies 'mislead and misrepresented'

The ARU you said they agreed to let the duo go to take up new deals in Europe, after realising they were 'mislead' and 'misrepresented' by their agents.

 

Gill and Holmes have been released with immediate effect from their existing standard player contract with the ARU, after formally entering into contracts with Toulon and Exeter Chiefs during their contractual term.

 

Under Australian contracting rules, in which deals run until December 31, both players would still be required to participate in the Aussie National Rugby Championship and Wallabies preparations.

 

The ARU has considered both individual situations and has allowed both players to exit their contracts to begin their European obligations.Two Wallabies 'mislead and misrepresented'

 

Players and their agents are aware that all ARU contracts only allow for those who have provided seven years of consecutive service will be granted an early release after the third Bledisloe Cup match in a calendar year.

 

This year the third Bledisloe Cup match is in Auckland on October 22.

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Australian Rugby Union General Manager of High-Performance Ben Whitaker said the agent accreditation board insist agents must not induce a breach by a player of the standard player contract.

"It is disappointing to be put in a position to make a decision when players have signed two contracts within the same term by their agents," said Whitaker.

"Therefore we really have no other choice but to release the players, as they have been put in a difficult situation where they have been misled and misrepresented.

"If a contract runs until 31 December and any agent gets a player to sign a contract which commences on August 1, he is forcing his client to breach his standard player contract.

"There's a responsibility that agents represent the best interest of their clients, however, any breach of Player Agent Regulations is putting players at risks of fines and sanctions, which is of great concern for the game.

"This decision has not been made lightly, however, in this instance, we've put the best interest of the players first."

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Any standard player contract specifically prohibits players from contracting to play for another club or team during the term of their contract.

Under the player agent regulations, an agent must not procure a breach by a player of the standard player contract.

 

Holmes played for the Wallabies against England in the third and final Test in Sydney in June, while Liam Gill was part of Michael Cheika's squad through the campaign.

 

A dual premiership winner with NRC club Brisbane City, Gill also captained the Reds in their final match of 2016  and was a runaway winner of the franchise's Stan Pilecki Medal in 2015.

 

The pair were both part of Queensland's winning 2011 Super Rugby campaign.

Two Wallabies 'mislead and misrepresented'

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