The real reason why Lions kingpin left

EXCLUSIVE: There is no denying that the departure of Sanele Nohamba left an indelible mark on the Lions.

Midway through last year, he was riding the crest of the wave – fresh from being invited to a Springbok alignment camp (in March), along with an award as South Africa’s United Rugby Championship Player of the Tournament and the Lions’ Player of the Year.

But late last year he suddenly and mysteriously disappeared from the weekly team sheets that the Lions announced.

During this time, the Lions became desperate to find a regular flyhalf after utilising five different players in the position.

Then, in February, the Lions announced that the versatile playmaker had been granted an early release.

Since last season, a host of players of colour have been let go by the franchise, calling into question their commitment to SA Rugby’s transformation policy.

Last season, Nohamba started 19 of 20 matches, scoring 135 points across the URC and Challenge Cup, splitting time at scrumhalf and flyhalf.

He starred in every single one of the nine URC games the Lions won last season.

He has since signed with Kwagga Smith’s Blue Revs in Japan and made his debut for them in Japan Rugby League One in March.

Was the death of his father the reason for his struggling form or did something else influence it?

In an exclusive interview obtained by Rugby365, Nohamba refuted these claims and rather pointed to the fact that he tried negotiating with the Lions after receiving numerous lucrative offers.

When asked if he tried talking to the coaches about what he should work on to get more game time, Nohamba revealed he never got any straight answers.

“I tried, but there were no straight answers. There was no point asking every week with no straight answers,” he says in the candid interview.

When coach Jaque Fourie was asked about the No. 10’s absence during a media briefing late last year, he put it down to Nohamba losing his father and claimed it affected the player’s performance on the field.

“No, it didn’t affect me. They told that to the media. I came back from the funeral thinking, ‘When did I play bad?”

When he started receiving offers from overseas, he started negotiating with the Lions. They were not prepared to give him what he wanted, even after he offered to stay another two years.

“I said [to them] you give me XYZ then I will stay for one more year. They said you are asking way too much. Then I said I can do two more years.

“Then I showed them the proposals I got from Japan and Edinburgh and all of these other clubs.

“But the offer from Japan was three times more. So it made it difficult for me to stay,” Nohamba explained.

By then, he had realised he was not on the Springboks’ radar and had made the decision to focus on his professional career.

“I can go and make money instead of staying in the country for nothing.

“It was disappointing to come out here every day [to training].

“It wasn’t even difficult to get an early release,” he further revealed.

Besides letting a top-quality player go, Nohamba is one of several transformation players who have left the franchise recently. Others include Edwill van der Merwe, Jordan Hendrikse, the Tshituka brothers, Vincent and Emmanuel, Sibusiso Sangweni, Tyler Bocks, and Boldwin Hansen.