Is Damian Willemse really worth R5.6 million a year?

The problems at WP Rugby continue to mount after latest reports suggest a joint SA Rugby committee has been appointed to intervene in its affairs to assess if any ‘reckless decisions and spending’ have been made.

READ | PETER DE VILLIERS LEFT SPEECHLESS BY GIFT FROM BRYAN HABANA

The short answer would be a resounding YES!

According to reports, the committee – made up of three members from SA Rugby and three WP representatives – has taken over the management of the union amid its ongoing financial crisis.

“It was discussed in a General Council meeting,” WP president Zelt Marais told Rugby365.

“It is collaborative management between WPPR, WPRFU and SA Rugby.”

WATCH | IS THIS THE MOST BRUTAL IN-YOUR-FACE HAND-OFF YOU’VE EVER SEEN?

Marais went on to lay the blame squarely at the door of Covid-19 – forgetting conveniently the dire situation the union was in prior to the coronavirus pandemic taking its toll on the sporting world.

“It is mainly as a result of the Covid-19 devastation on all franchises, in that fans are not allowed into stadia,” Marais would have everyone believe.

SA Rugby’s intervention follows after 15 of WP’s Premier League clubs laid a formal complaint about the ongoing problems at the union.

One of their biggest gripes – and rightly so – is reportedly one of financial mismanagement where exorbitant contract offers to players have played their part in the current financial crisis.

READ | SPRINGBOK SCRUMHALF EXTENDS LOFTUS VERSFELD STAY

Like the following staggering example.

According to Rapport, WP Rugby unbelievably offered Damian Willemse nearly R2 million a year more to reject an offer the Bulls had tabled for the six-Test, often injured 23-year-old.

The article states that the Bulls tabled a R3.8 million (R316 000 per month) offer to Willemse, but WP’s counter-offer of R4.8 million in the first year, R5.2 million in the second year and R5.6 million in the third year that not surprisingly saw the Paul Roos alumni agree to stay in Cape Town for the next three seasons.

The Bulls’ offer in itself sounds more than generous for a player who has flattered to deceive more often than not and hasn’t even been able to make the flyhalf berth his own at WP and the Stormers and is currently donning the No 15 jersey – when available for selection.

Why WP Rugby would counter with such an over-the-top offer is baffling – and has set off alarm bells.

READ | SPRINGBOKS HANDED BRUTAL RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP DRAW

The fact a player who only has six Test caps to his name is earning considerably more than far more experienced team-mates will no doubt not sit well with many.

Not surprisingly, it’s also been reported that the union refused to hand over its bank statements and bond documents upon request and that was the final straw in sparking SA Rugby into taking action.

The committee will now launch an investigation to determine whether there were any irregular expenditures made by the union’s business wing.

Watch this space!

READ | BRITISH & IRISH LIONS: CHESLIN KOLBE SAYS TESTS WILL BE A CAREER HIGHLIGHT