By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
SA Rugby has released a statement, confirming that their CEO Jurie Roux’s long-standing battle with former employer, Stellenbosch University is still ongoing.
In December, Roux lost an arbitration appeal and was ordered to pay back R37 million to the University for the improper use of funds.
SA Rugby said the legal process between Roux and the University of Stellenbosch was continuing following the filing of an application on March 3 in the Western Cape Division of the High Court for a review and setting aside of both the final arbitration award as well as the award of the Appeal Tribunal against him.
Roux lost an appeal at a hearing after previously being found guilty of misappropriating funds while in charge if the Stellenbosch university’s finance department.
The case relates to Roux’s time at the Maties Rugby Club when he was a senior director in the university’s finance department and chairman of the rugby club.He was involved from 2002 to 2010.
The university accused Roux and a colleague, Chris de Beer, of misappropriating funds from the club and of being in breach of their employment contracts.
Maties appointed auditors KPMG to forensically investigate the rugby club’s finances covering the time when Roux was in charge of payments. In 2012 – a year before he started as Saru’s chief executive – the report found irregularities in the allocation of funds.
Roux became SA Rugby boss in 2013 and has served as the organisation’s CEO for the last nine years.
The case poses a conundrum for SA Rugby, because Roux has become a respected and effective administrator who has an unblemished and unimpeachable record at the union.
He has navigated the organisation with skill and nous through the pandemic, which included strategically aligning South African rugby with more lucrative northern hemisphere competitions.
It was also on his watch that Rassie Erasmus was employed as director of rugby at Saru, which was instrumental in the Springboks’ 2019 Rugby World Cup success and their current No 1 world ranking.
Roux supported the establishment of a designated Sevens programme, by releasing more funding to fully contract nearly 30 sevens players as part of coach Neil Powell’s programme.
Since 2013 the Sevens programme has delivered three World Series titles, a Commonwealth Games gold medal and Olympic bronze for the team. Both the Springboks and the Blitzboks are currently ranked No 1 in the world.
Although the South African Rugby Union is not a party to the case, the body said they understood the public interest in the matter considering Roux’s position as CEO of Saru.
Saru said they had sought and received the input from an eminent legal team throughout the matter which is currently considering the recent developments.