Will La Motte victory open the floodgates from WPRFU to Boland?
NEWS: The La Motte victory at a Boland Rugby Union Special General Meeting may open the floodgates for more clubs to cross over from Western Province to their neighbours.
The Special General Meeting, in Wellington this past Saturday, May 31, ended in a monumental victory for the community-based club from Franschhoek.
They are not full members of the Boland Rugby Union.
“The fighting is over,” La Motte Chairman Dennis Boonzaaier said.
“We are now just going to play the game,” he added.
* (Article continues below …)
The past weekend’s victory, a unanimous decision by the BRU clubs to confirm La Motte’s membership status, ends a saga that started last year and also took a turn in court.
La Motte sought legal relief from the Western Cape High Court to compel its reinstatement into the BRU Community Shield competition, after a decision by WPRFU to prevent them from affiliating to the BRU.
The respondents in the case were the BRU, WPRFU, South African Rugby Football Union, Kobus Vergotine, Danny Jones and Faizel Felton.
The judge, Justice Francis, in his ruling, determined that the BRU must comply with a decision taken at the union’s Annual General Meeting on November 30. (To read the ruling, CLICK HERE!)
WPRFU was also instructed not to ‘unlawfully interfere’ in the affairs of La Motte.
This past Saturday’s outcome may end La Motte’s struggle to return to the playing field, but may have far-reaching consequences.
It will likely spark renewed focus on the vexed border issues between the WP Rugby Football Union and BRU.
In the Paarl and Stellenbosch regions, rugby is the only sporting code that is affiliated with WP.
In all other sporting codes Paarl clubs fall under Boland.
La Motte’s neighbouring clubs Wemmershoek and Dennegeur RFC are already affiliated to Boland.
Cloetesville, however, is playing in Western Province.
Cloetesville has suggested they may revisit the ‘decision’ to remain with WPRFU, because they were “bullied” and “steamrolled” in a meeting with WPRFU to continue playing in the Cape Town-based leagues.
Paarl, who had already departed WPRFU for BRU, and La Motte were summoned on March 19 to a meeting with the WPRFU on March 20.
Paarl, who submitted papers to leave the WPRFU in January and formally join BRU, declined the invitation because of the short notice.
La Motte agreed to meet, hoping their situation would be resolved.
However, the meeting turned out to be a fruitless one and La Motte left the gathering.
At the meeting Danny Jones, General Manager Amateur Rugby WPRFU, informed them that their request to move to Boland has been denied.
According to La Motte, Jones also did not want to allow any recordings of the meeting.
Dr Harlan Cloete, an engaged scholar and research fellow at the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies at the University of the Free State, recently pointed to what he regards as ‘wider contradictions in governance’.
These include Hamlets in Mamre, under the City of Cape Town; Dennegeur and Wemmershoek in the BRU, with Franschhoek in WPRFU (all from the Stellenbosch Municipality) and in the Drakenstein Municipality, where 14 out of a total of 35 clubs play in WPRFU and the rest in BRU.
Boland President Bennie van Rooi, who is regarded as a close associate of the new Western Province Rugby Football Union President, Kevin Kiewitz, has so far declined to answer any of @rugby365com’s questions regarding the saga.
@king365ed
@rugby365com
Related articles
Has Boland become a big bully?
‘Mickey Mouse’ club wins big in court
SARU dragged to court in public spat
Stormers welcome new WPRFU era
New WPRFU president selected
