With Thursday night being the deadline for the 21-day window for players to cancel their contracts with their rugby unions if they were to avoid having to take the blanket pay cut the industry has agreed on to stave off the forecast financial damage of Covid-19 on the sport, this week was an experience in practically everyone involved in rugby chasing their tail.
Hearing that he turned that kind of money down – in favour of pay cuts that kick in at the end of this month, and a promise from the Sharks to make it up to him at a later stage – hints at his loyalty either being misguided or him being more about winning things than he is about money.Du Toit’s case, which is still hanging in the balance because it appears he has actually terminated his contract with Western Province despite having no intentions to leave, is as understandable as it is confusing.
But given that his family own the Kloovenburg Wine & Olive Estate, which I’m reliably told produces some of the best wine in the country, it is understandable that money wouldn’t have been a motivation to leave. But there were winners other than Marx during the 21-day window period, the first being the Cheetahs, who managed to get youngsters Marcell Muller and George Cronjé from Montpellier, and netted Howard Mnisi , Andisa Ntsila and Jeandré Rudolph .