The Vodacom Blue Bulls have made a massive coup by signing Griquas and Springbok winger Bjorn Basson to join them from November 1.
While the Bulls had been after another Springbok winger, a secret trip to Kimberley on Monday by Blue Bulls High Performance manager Ian Schwartz was enough to convince both Basson, Griquas and the Cheetahs to release the winger a year early on his contract to make the move to the Vodacom Super 14 and Absa Currie Cup champions.
Schwartz wasn’t available for comment yesterday, but SuperSport.com can reveal that the Blue Bulls did pay a transfer fee to get Basson released from his contract after months of negotiations.
These were somewhat tricky as the Cheetahs paid a portion of Basson’s salary and therefore had a say in whether he could be moved or not.
Griquas CEO Arni van Rooyen confirmed to SuperSport.com that the deal had been finalised and that Basson had signed his new contract with the Bulls on Monday afternoon.
“Bjorn has signed his contract and is a Blue Bulls as from 1 November,” Van Rooyen told SuperSport.com.
“Bjorn is a very good player and the Bulls were very professional in the manner that they approached us to negotiate with him. We don’t want to lose him but rugby is a business and the decision was the best for all parties concerned. He is one of the best finishers in the country.”
Van Rooyen did confirm that a transfer fee was paid, but declined to say what the amount was.
The Blue Bulls were also looking at signing Springbok winger JP Pietersen, but it is understood that his price was three times as much as Basson and therefore they decided on the younger winger rather than Pietersen’s experience.
There was also talk earlier in the season that they were interested in rogue winger Lionel Mapoe. The Bulls approached the Cheetahs at the time with a request to negotiate for Mapoe, which was denied. They subsequently stopped pursuing Mapoe because it would be outside the SARU regulations to negotiate with him after the request was denied.
Mapoe requested a release from his contract to join the Sharks, who have apparently been paying him since he left Bloemfontein and even though he lost an arbitration case on the matter, has refused to return to Bloemfontein as he was instructed to do.
Basson will now at least give a bit of speed back to the Bulls backs, which have been lacking in this department since the departure of Bryan Habana to Cape Town at the end of last year. In the Currie Cup they have played veteran utility back Jaco van der Westhuyzen on the wing, ignoring seasoned finisher John Mametsa with mixed success.
Their Currie Cup plans also took a hammer blow earlier when Bok winger Akona Ndungane broke his leg for a second time shortly after returning to the rugby field after recovering from the first break.
Ndungane’s contract runs out at the end of the year and it will be interesting to see if the Blue Bulls do renew it after he has played so little for them over the past few seasons.
