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Cape Town - Contracts that the Sharks rugby team's new acquisitions Willem Alberts and Louis Ludik signed with the Golden Lions are not valid, Western Cape High Court Judge Dennis Davis ruled on Friday.
The Sharks brought the urgent application after an SA Rugby Union (Saru) hearing on Thursday came to no resolution.
Sharks advocate Jeremy Gauntlett said the matter was deemed urgent as the Super 14 tournament would start on Saturday and both
players were important to the Sharks' game plan.
Lions chief executive officer Manie Reyneke had refused to release the clearance certificates which would allow Alberts and
Ludik to play for the Sharks.
Alberts, who is an eighth man, and Ludik, a fullback, signed contracts with the Lions on November 1 2008. These were to expire
at the end of 2011.
The contracts stated that after the first year the players would have the option to accept offers from other unions, but that the
Lions would have the first option to match those offers.
The contract also stated that the players' salaries would be reviewed "after the 2009 and Currie Cup season".
This review was not done, said Gauntlett.
At the end of the 2009 season the two players signed new contracts with the Sharks.
Lions advocate Theo Beckerling told Davis the union wanted a chance to rectify the contract.
"You want the court to come to your assistance because someone couldn't set a proper contract?" Davis asked Beckerling.
"The document is vague and better contracts have been produced in South African legal history," he said.
It would be unfair to deny Alberts and Ludik the opportunity to play, which was their livelihood.
"The Lions are depriving them of playing rugby because they do not want to play for them anymore," he said.
The Sharks play the Chiefs in Durban and the Lions play the Stormers in Johannesburg this weekend to kick off their Super 14
campaigns.
The Sharks brought the urgent application after an SA Rugby Union (Saru) hearing on Thursday came to no resolution.
Sharks advocate Jeremy Gauntlett said the matter was deemed urgent as the Super 14 tournament would start on Saturday and both
players were important to the Sharks' game plan.
Lions chief executive officer Manie Reyneke had refused to release the clearance certificates which would allow Alberts and
Ludik to play for the Sharks.
Alberts, who is an eighth man, and Ludik, a fullback, signed contracts with the Lions on November 1 2008. These were to expire
at the end of 2011.
The contracts stated that after the first year the players would have the option to accept offers from other unions, but that the
Lions would have the first option to match those offers.
The contract also stated that the players' salaries would be reviewed "after the 2009 and Currie Cup season".
This review was not done, said Gauntlett.
At the end of the 2009 season the two players signed new contracts with the Sharks.
Lions advocate Theo Beckerling told Davis the union wanted a chance to rectify the contract.
"You want the court to come to your assistance because someone couldn't set a proper contract?" Davis asked Beckerling.
"The document is vague and better contracts have been produced in South African legal history," he said.
It would be unfair to deny Alberts and Ludik the opportunity to play, which was their livelihood.
"The Lions are depriving them of playing rugby because they do not want to play for them anymore," he said.
The Sharks play the Chiefs in Durban and the Lions play the Stormers in Johannesburg this weekend to kick off their Super 14
campaigns.
