Bok stars threatened strike

A new twist in the contract battle between Bakkies Botha and the Bulls has been revealed as Springboks Bryan Habana, Wynand Olivier reportedly threatened to go on strike with Botha if the lock was not released to join French club Toulon.

A new twist in the contract battle between Bakkies Botha and the Bulls has been revealed as Springboks Bryan Habana, Wynand Olivier reportedly threatened to go on strike with Botha if the lock was not released to join French club Toulon.

Botha has made an application to the Labour Court in Johannesburg to have his contracts with the Blue Bulls Company (BBC) and SA Rugby declared null and void and the allegations form part of the 144 pages of affidavits which Botha gave in as supporting documentation.

Details of a letter, which was drafted by Botha's agent Bernie Habana, were revealed in by Afrikaans weekly, Sondag. Habana also represents his son and International Rugby Board (IRB) Player of the year Bryan Habana as well as Springbok and Bulls centre Wynand Olivier.

The application, which will appear before the Labour Court on Wednesday, will determine whether or not Botha is able to take up a lucrative offer from French club Toulon and is seen as a test case for rugby contracts in South Africa.

The documents include several emails and letters to the Bulls in which Habana Snr is mentioned several times.

According to the documents, Botha admits that Habana Snr, who acted as his agent, gave him bad advice, but also that Habana submitted a grievance on behalf of Bryan Habana, Olivier and himself that was never attended to by the Bulls.

In his affidavit, the agent admits that he negotiated a contract with the Sharks in 2006 against the rules of the IRB as Botha was under contract to the Bulls.