Craig Ray

The South African Rugby Union yesterday said that an independent judicial officer would investigate allegations that Free State and the Griffons fielded ineligible players in the Currie Cup.

Dekker Govender from Durban will hear a complaint by the South Western Districts Eagles that the Griffons and Free State abused the loan system. Hennie Daniller, Jandre Blom and Jacques-Louis Potgieter were loaned by Free State to the Griffons for Currie Cup First Division games. The trio had all been selected earlier in the year for Free State before turning out for the Griffons. Daniller then returned to play for the Cheetahs, having already represented the Griffons. A regulation on the movement of players states that a loaned player may not return to play for his original province in the same competition in the same year. Daniller has moved between the two provinces, but the question is whether the Currie Cup Premier Division and Currie Cup First Divisions are the same. The Eagles, who lost 26-19 to the Griffons with Daniller in the team last weekend, are adamant the divisions are the same and have the support of Western Province.

Should the Griffons and Free State be found guilty, the sanctions could extend to a fine or docking of league points. The Cheetahs insist they had written consent from the union to loan the players to the Griffons.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.