Contract killer
14 Dec 2010
MARK KEOHANE, writing in SA Rugby magazine, says Lionel Mapoe has screwed the system.
Lionel Mapoe got what he wanted, which was a ticket out of Bloemfontein. But it was the way that he did it that sucks and betrays his immense talent on a rugby field.
A year ago Mapoe’s omission from the Springbok squad to tour Europe was more baffling than some of the selections. Mapoe was the form winger in South Africa. He appeared the dream selection: young, big, fast and bloody well black. It was as if God had gift-wrapped the complete package for the Springbok selectors who did as they tend to do with the logical and the obvious: they ignored Mapoe, who didn’t need an international tour to stay in the news. If only we were talking about this athlete for the right reasons.
I always imagined the first column I’d write about Mapoe would be in celebration of what he was doing in a Springbok jersey, but before he gets there he would probably have spent some time in every provincial union and probably not have played a game for any of them.
Mapoe, for whatever reason, was unhappy at the Cheetahs and decided the Sharks were his future. The Sharks, never shy to import from the Free State, which is South African professional rugby’s greatest feeder system, did not need a second phone call from Mapoe or his agent.
An injury ended Mapoe’s season and he was off to the Sharks. That he had a contract with the Cheetahs seemed nothing more than an irritation to the player and Mapoe’s rehabilitation proceeded in Durban while the Cheetahs threatened legal action.
The Cheetahs, the punching bag of South African professional rugby when it comes to losing talent to wealthier provinces, were always going to lose because even if a court ruled in favour of the union, all Cheetahs coach Naka Drotské would be left with was a player who had all the talent to be a superstar for the union but no desire to be true to that talent.
Mapoe wanted out and the Sharks were happy to oblige in taking a player still under contract. So when Mapoe walked out on the Sharks a month ago and joined the Lions after the Cheetahs and Lions administration had exchanged notes and put the squeeze on the Sharks, there wasn’t a whole lot of sympathy for the Sharks.
This, though, isn’t about the Sharks, the Cheetahs or the Lions. It isn’t about who is right or wrong and who acted in good faith. It isn’t about who has the moral high ground or whether the Sharks’ lawyers feel there was a loophole in Mapoe’s contract. It certainly isn’t about whether the Cheetahs and Lions feel common ground has been reached and that both unions and the player start 2011 as winners. It is about the absolute disregard shown by yet another player for a signed contract. What does a signature mean to Mapoe? Where is the integrity?
Every year players talk about the lack of professionalism among certain administrators. Players privately bemoan the incompetence of these amateurs who control their professions in the guise of CEOs. But what of the player who screws the system and does a dirty on his own integrity in the process? What a mess.
I have no sympathy for Mapoe or any player who walks out on a deal in which he has committed his name to paper. There is honour in a name and the assumption has always been there is honour in a signature.
Mapoe will get better as a player working with Lions and former All Blacks coach John Mitchell. He will break tackles, make tackles and score tries in next year’s Super Rugby tournament, but nothing he does on the field can disguise his lack of integrity off it.
The Lions must enjoy Mapoe’s talent while they have him, but they shouldn’t be surprised if he’s in Pretoria or Cape Town in February, given his track record.
If you let a player in through the back door then expect him to leave the same way.
– This first appeared in the December issue of SA Rugby magazine.
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180 Comments
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14 Dec 2010, 06:12 am
A big zero in top-level rugby.
14 Dec 2010, 06:15 am
“In a move to shock the rugby world, All Blacks sensation Sonny Bill Williams is set to announce that he is stepping into the boxing ring for his third professional fight.
The fight is believed to be taking place in 2011 just months before the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand in September. ”
(stuff.co.nz)
Now THERE is a dinkum contractual worry. Not this Mapoe fraud.
14 Dec 2010, 06:23 am
you have lost your integrity a long time ago mr.mark keohane…if you ever had any to start with.take that tree out of your own eyes first before jumping mapoe.
14 Dec 2010, 06:33 am
@the tackler:ok,you have posted that same story on another thread.what do you want to prove?please enlighten me.
14 Dec 2010, 06:36 am
@capo : There’s nothing “to prove” but plenty “to inform”. Consider yourself informed.
14 Dec 2010, 06:51 am
What rugby in this country requires urgently is a Code of Ethics in the handling of transfers between franchises.
We have here the Mapoe example who himself was ill-advised and himself behaved unethically. And for his troubles didn’t touch a rugby ball all season.
Before that we had the Willem Alberts and Louis Ludik saga that had to go to arbitration between the Lions and Sharks.
And before that, the Jaque Fourie move to the Stormers/Province which also went to arbitration. And ensured that the player missed out on a whole Currie Cup season.
Unless all concerned start behaving professionally in a professional environment, we will have more of these unsavoury incidents occurring.
14 Dec 2010, 08:02 am
@tackler. Who cares about SBW boxing. Hesjust like his showpony mate Mundine pretending to be a serious boxer. As long as he doesn’t go up against someone who can punch he’ll be just fine.
14 Dec 2010, 08:16 am
Well, 2010 was one of the best years for a new-comer to earn himself a springbok cap considering all the injuries and lack of form by various player. In Lwazi Mvovo and Gio Aplon we now have awesome back-ups to Bryan Habana(If he can regain some form) and JP Pietersen.
14 Dec 2010, 08:20 am
I agree wholehartedly with this article.
14 Dec 2010, 08:21 am
@stormer in a teacup : The Man Mundine is a two-time WORLD super-middleweight champion for the WBA and is still the reigning WBO champ even if was illegally KO sucker-punched to the back of the head recently. That’s hardly “show-pony” and it’s pretty darn serious enough.
SBW is unbeaten as a pro boxer.
But his boxing might imperil his rugby. That’s a very large contractual worry, even if the AB selectors still have the world’s best midfield without him.
14 Dec 2010, 08:25 am
In Sonny Bill Williams the all-blacks have a great replacement for Ma’a Nonu. They actually have some brilliant centre stocks. Nonu, Smith, SBW, Kahui, Fruean(bloody good in NPC) and from next year they’ve even got Umaga.
14 Dec 2010, 08:26 am
Nice headline, nice article. Mapoe will forever more be known for how he screwed around his various unions, and it will over shadow whatever he achieves on a rugby field.
14 Dec 2010, 08:27 am
Come on, keo, now you feel it’s time to moan about this?
When Fourie paid a lawyer to scratch and scratch until a little thread of loophole came loose, we were told to suck it up because the contract was flimsy.
And when Alberts and Ludick weaseled out of their contracts in similar fashion, we had to hear once again that the blame lay at the Lions lawyers. But now Mapoe is a disgrace for disrespecting his contract?
What’s good for the goose, bro.
14 Dec 2010, 08:30 am
@stormer in a teacup : Ja, I saw the wobbly drunk they put in the ring with SWB last time. That wasn’t boxing. That was target practice, and SWB should have ended it in under a minute. Which he didn’t.
14 Dec 2010, 08:37 am
Speaking of gooses.
14 Dec 2010, 08:44 am
@gunther : What, did you get lucky?
14 Dec 2010, 08:45 am
Sonny Bill Who??
Must be one of Jamie Olivers kids…
14 Dec 2010, 08:47 am
Katman
Yep.
Got my whole arm in.
14 Dec 2010, 08:48 am
@Bod : Sonny Bill Walton. Brother of Jim Bob and Mary Allen.
14 Dec 2010, 08:49 am
I only saw 2 or 3 games Mapoe played in. Did not really see what all the hype was really about. Mvovo and Basson made a much bigger impression when i first saw them. Given chance, would he be able to oust either of the above?
14 Dec 2010, 08:52 am
Bod
No man his kids have names like daisy fruitcake and franky bigbollocks.
14 Dec 2010, 08:54 am
All I know is Mapoe is a Lion now, and he’s going to be part of a tremendous backline. We lost three of our best in 18 months under similar circumstances, so don’t expect us to get all saddened by the injustice of it all.
14 Dec 2010, 08:57 am
Having thought about it though contract killer is a bit harsh.
I mean just because he now plays for team owned by a tenderpreneur and a gun runner….
14 Dec 2010, 08:59 am
Keo, when you finally get out of bed, finish you yoghurt and muesli and switch on your Macbook Pro, I’d like you to tell me where this outrage was when Fourie snuck out of the Lions’ camp and crawled in with Province under the cover of night. I suspect you will argue that leaving the Lions for Province is morally justified, even if it means pooping all over your contract.
14 Dec 2010, 09:00 am
@katman : All true. But at least Fourie has played more than 10 games at the Lions. In Mapoe’s case, half those were under 21.
@kingrichard : You’re right. That’s all he played.
14 Dec 2010, 09:03 am
@gunther : All I know is that Sonny Bill is as big a joke as Daisy Fruitcake and and Franky Bigbolloks.
But I am happy for Tackles, as he can finally replace the worn, delaminated and buggered Jonah Lomu poster on his ceiling above his bed with a brand spanking new Sonny Bill poster
14 Dec 2010, 09:06 am
Had a function on Friday night and was chatting to two Kiwi’s now living in SA. Nice chaps but damn are they feeling the pressure. All they could talk about was the wc and what would happen if they didn’t win it. Quite funny really. They told me a story about a builder who walked off site whilst building for an AB, because they lost.
14 Dec 2010, 09:08 am
One correction, Keo:
There is no way Mapoe will find himself in Pretoria in February, or any other month for that matter.
We don’t go for the type of contracting methods that the Sharks stoop to.
And we wouldn’t want to touch Mapoe with a bargepole in any case.
14 Dec 2010, 09:09 am
@Bod : “brand spanking new Sonny Bill poster”
“spanking” being the operative word.
14 Dec 2010, 09:10 am
@katman : to be fair, Keo came out and criticised jaque fourie at the time and maintained that he needed to honour his contract with the lions! Admittedly it was around the time when “Conniving Ways” were on a retainer as “rugby consultants” at the Lions so his sincerity was questionable but he is being downright consistent.
14 Dec 2010, 09:11 am
Bod
Ticklers poster of lomu would keep an entire csi team busy for a week with those little lights of theirs.
Poor Jonah will have more pearl necklaces than Aspreys.
14 Dec 2010, 09:11 am
Wonder how much all the legal fees were that the Sharks have to pay out? Some one needs to be questioned on that.
14 Dec 2010, 09:11 am
@Tacitus : this is a different tune from the one you were singing late last year and early 2010
14 Dec 2010, 09:13 am
@Tacitus : ya. you’ve already got more ‘swartes’ than you can handle.
14 Dec 2010, 09:15 am
1. Mapoe
2. Alberts
3. Ludick
4. Fourie
5. Bakkies
All of these guys tried (some succesfully) to get out of their signed contracts. Its a real pity that we are left with SARU to manage all of this which we know will not happen. Instead, everyone is suing everyone. Transfer fees or some method can surely be looked at to lubricate the process.
14 Dec 2010, 09:15 am
@Transformation :
What tune might that be?
14 Dec 2010, 09:17 am
@katman :
look, nobody is having a go at the Lions.
but there is a definate trend towards players not having any respect for a contract that they have signed and agreed to.
14 Dec 2010, 09:18 am
Oh Keo, of all people.
Spare us the bloody sermon from the mount.
You’re riddled with hypocricy, devoid of even a thread of integrity.
Indeed, this site earns its keep (and lines your pocket) with its trash tabloid journalism and total disregard for anything remotely approaching honesty, decency and integrity.
Give us a break…
14 Dec 2010, 09:20 am
Ai tog Keo
“young, big, fast and bloody well black.”
14 Dec 2010, 09:21 am
@TheTackler :
2007
Sonny Bill Williams was caught in a compromising position with model Candice Falzon, with a photo taken by a mobile phone of the incident published on the Daily Telegraph website. Williams later apologised to his girlfriend.[88][89] He was later caught by police relieving himself outside of a nightclub in Cronulla and fined $650, subsequently admitting to an alcohol problem and later on in the year was caught speeding 20 km/h over the legal limit of the area.[90][91]
14 Dec 2010, 09:24 am
@Dumb Supporter : There’s no doubt that the system needs to be looked at. But refusing a transfer isn’t new to professional sport. Just at the moment Carlos Tevez, the Manchester City football player is looking to move from Man City. The bosses don’t want to let him go, so the only options he really has is, (a) come to an agreement, or (b) retire.
If they allow an escape clause if a player is unhappy then it will degenerate the value of the contract in the first place. We do use transfer fees, and Free State were paid one for Mapoe’s move to the Lions.
It’s interresting that the Cheetahs could refuse a move to the Sharks for example, but allow a move to the Lions, if it’s still within contract period. Alex fergusson from Manchester United will never allow a player from his squad to move to another competing team like Liverpool/Arsenal/Chelsea etc for example.
So the way that the Cheetahs reacted and followed protocol was for me, in line with international standards.
The fact that Jaques Fourie, Louis Luddick and Alberts were allowed to move was because their contracts were dodgy. And yes, for that the Lions must be blamed. yes, people may feel it’s immoral but legally allowed as decided by the courts.
Where you draw the moral line in those cases will probably depend on which team you support.
14 Dec 2010, 09:27 am
@Fern :
“Sonny Bill Williams was caught in a compromising position with model Candice Falzon”
was she rodgering him from behind with a strap-on?
14 Dec 2010, 09:28 am
@the peanut gallery : Glad to see you and Andre Nels altered ego caught my drift, as I couldbt bring myself to publically dis my mate Tackles
14 Dec 2010, 09:28 am
@Brigadier Van Zyl : Candice is a professional sportswoman if i’m not mistaken. So yes, she probably was!
14 Dec 2010, 09:31 am
@Joe Maher : Yegads… are you still alive?
All we need now is for the Reverend Jim Jones to log on and we will have the veritable old boys school blogging this morning
14 Dec 2010, 09:31 am
Korporaal
Probably a good thing ge wasn’t dating our caster then.
He may have fallen pregnant …
14 Dec 2010, 09:36 am
@gunther :
LOL
14 Dec 2010, 09:37 am
@gunther : that would be: cast-her-*****..-yeah
14 Dec 2010, 09:37 am
it is a professional game now and a players career is short. They should always seek the best offer. EVERYTHING is negotiable. Why should he stay at the Free State when they were undervaluing his talents? If you look after a player they will show the loyalty and integrity that you write about. And in this day and age it is the players agent who does the business deals……sorry Keo but I find this article of yours a bit naive.
14 Dec 2010, 09:38 am
YOUNG MONEY
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