It was back to business for the Border Bulldogs yesterday as the team was back on the training field after a two-week hiatus. They are now preparing for their scheduled opening SuperSport Rugby Challenge match of the season against the Boland Cavaliers in Port Elizabeth on Sunday.
The Border players, backed by the SA Rugby Players Association (Sarpa), have been embroiled in a battle with the Border Rugby Union over unpaid pension fund, income tax and their medical aid premiums which led to the granting of a provisional sequestration order against BRU on Tuesday.
The players had already refused to train over the past few weeks and it was looking increasingly unlikely that they would be in action on Sunday. However a last-ditch meeting with Border Rugby president Pumlani Mkolo on Wednesday afternoon seems to have put the players at ease, for now.
“The guys had a meeting with the president yesterday and after talking amongst themselves afterwards they came back and informed us that they want to play on Sunday against Boland in Port Elizabeth,” explained Director of Border Rugby Dumisani Mhani.
“So from our side at the office the liquidation order has been granted, but it is an interim one, so we are still working around the logistics to get everything in place now.
“So at the moment I would say everything is still sub judice because it is still being discussed between the lawyers of both parties.”
With the players back on the training field things are however looking up for the union, as it would have been extremely embarrassing had the players not honoured their opening game, which would have been their right under the circumstances.
The players will however have another training session today before they head for PE sometime tomorrow.
“The good thing was that the players have confirmed with their union Sarpa that they would like to play and we are very happy with that,” said Mhani.
“To us they said they are communicating with their union so that starting from Sunday they will be playing going forward, it is not going to be a once-off thing, so we are supporting that decision.
“For us as Border rugby we would like to get things back running smoothly.
“On Wednesday they made a commitment to be here for training today and they were here, so I respect that commitment from a personal and professional perspective as well.”
The players will find the going tough getting back into things, especially with a match in just two days time and not having any match practice under their belts going into it.
They last featured in a warmup match in March, before the team came together and refused to train, which then saw them miss two warmup matches during that time.
They will thus be a little rusty against a Boland team that will have picked up a good head of steam going into the match.
“Even though they did not train for a number of weeks they tried to keep themselves fit, some came and trained at the stadium on their own, while others trained at the gym and at home, so I think they have maintained their fitness,” said Mhani.
“But obviously team preparations took a hit and team cohesion is a bit fractured, but it won't take long to get them back on track.
“We are talking about professional players here so I am not too worried and I think that going forward we will just take it one game at a time and see where we are at the end of each game week.”
The action gets under way at 12.30pm on Sunday
Bulldogs bristle for on-field battle
The Border players, backed by the SA Rugby Players Association (Sarpa), have been embroiled in a battle with the Border Rugby Union over unpaid pension fund, income tax and their medical aid premiums which led to the granting of a provisional sequestration order against BRU on Tuesday.
The players had already refused to train over the past few weeks and it was looking increasingly unlikely that they would be in action on Sunday. However a last-ditch meeting with Border Rugby president Pumlani Mkolo on Wednesday afternoon seems to have put the players at ease, for now.
“The guys had a meeting with the president yesterday and after talking amongst themselves afterwards they came back and informed us that they want to play on Sunday against Boland in Port Elizabeth,” explained Director of Border Rugby Dumisani Mhani.
“So from our side at the office the liquidation order has been granted, but it is an interim one, so we are still working around the logistics to get everything in place now.
“So at the moment I would say everything is still sub judice because it is still being discussed between the lawyers of both parties.”
With the players back on the training field things are however looking up for the union, as it would have been extremely embarrassing had the players not honoured their opening game, which would have been their right under the circumstances.
The players will however have another training session today before they head for PE sometime tomorrow.
“The good thing was that the players have confirmed with their union Sarpa that they would like to play and we are very happy with that,” said Mhani.
“To us they said they are communicating with their union so that starting from Sunday they will be playing going forward, it is not going to be a once-off thing, so we are supporting that decision.
“For us as Border rugby we would like to get things back running smoothly.
“On Wednesday they made a commitment to be here for training today and they were here, so I respect that commitment from a personal and professional perspective as well.”
The players will find the going tough getting back into things, especially with a match in just two days time and not having any match practice under their belts going into it.
They last featured in a warmup match in March, before the team came together and refused to train, which then saw them miss two warmup matches during that time.
They will thus be a little rusty against a Boland team that will have picked up a good head of steam going into the match.
“Even though they did not train for a number of weeks they tried to keep themselves fit, some came and trained at the stadium on their own, while others trained at the gym and at home, so I think they have maintained their fitness,” said Mhani.
“But obviously team preparations took a hit and team cohesion is a bit fractured, but it won't take long to get them back on track.
“We are talking about professional players here so I am not too worried and I think that going forward we will just take it one game at a time and see where we are at the end of each game week.”
The action gets under way at 12.30pm on Sunday
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