Handré Pollard falls between two insurance policies

This sort of situation illustrates how things can get quite messy when players are balancing club commitments in different hemispheres, along with international ambitions.

The Bulls are refusing to pay Handré Pollard while he is sidelined with a knee injury.

The Springbok flyhalf injured his shoulder while playing club rugby for NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes in Japan for which he had contract insurance.

He then returned to the Bulls and suffered a knee injury in training that has ruled him out for the entire Super Rugby season.

According to Die Burger, Pollard needed to play for the Bulls, after returning from Japan, in order to be covered again by the injury insurance.

The Bulls will therefore not start paying Pollard again until he returns to the field, with the South African Rugby Union set to foot the bill.

http://www.sarugbymag.co.za/blog/details/bulls-wont-pay-injured-pollard

His agent may have failed here. His/her job is to ensure the athletes are always covered. But if the Boks are paying, then likely no harm, no foul?

Often in a situation like this, in a market where players really have the bargaining power over their team at contract times, a gesture of good will from the club can help secure a players loyalty when future contract negotiations come about.

No idea about the finances of the Bulls or how much they'd be out of pocket but it seems like the kind of thing I'd remember the next time my contract as up for renewal if I was Pollard. If you can't compete on wages with European sides you've got to compete on providing better medical care, better coaching and just having a better relationship with players.

I agree. Non-salary compensation can go a long way to maintaining a good relationship with athletes.

Considering the injury was whilst training with the Bulls it's a bit naughty of them to tell him he's on his own. Had he been injured in Japan and missed the season you could understand that or if it was an injury related to his shoulder he injured in Japan but this appears a new injury.

Poor show from the Bulls and now it's likely another Bok international will head to Europe. There's several clubs looking for a ten and with funds available. Toulon and Montpellier are bound to be interested and then Quins are desperate for a long term Evans replacement. He could take his pick.

It does sound like an agent's slip-up but Pollard is getting paid, so perhaps the agent feels he's done all right for his client. From a rugby finance point of view, it's not great that SARU are on the hook when, with a bit better management, it could have been an insurance company. Hard to imagine the premiums would have been that different to cover a training injury before his first appearance.

Is the SARU obliged to cover Pollard? Or are they covering him because they see him as a valuable asset they want to protect?

I'd imagine the second Dr. If he's not covered by them you'd imagine he'll be gone abroad to a club willing to pay for his rehab. The SARU must want to keep one of their brightest talents in SA to inspire the next generation and focus on international rugby.

It's interesting to see what the SARU and the Super Rugby teams over there are or are not doing to influence players to stay.

Was reading about Marcell Coetzee (since he's just signed for Ulster obviously) and this article made the point that a) he was dropped for no good reason right before the RWC and b) Heyneke Meyer has selected overseas based players ahead of younger, home-based players anyway- so why would he stay in South Africa?

It will be very interesting indeed to see how the new Springbok coach views selection of these guys. The pressure for results at all costs is huge and I can't see a new coach turning around to the SARU and saying we can't pick the likes of Pienaar, Habana and Coetzee... it's his head on the block. A policy like that has to come from within the Union I think. Ireland have the same issue when you look at the state of our scrum this season so far this year and the fact that the IRFU have lost Marty Moore to Wasps. Thats another perfect example of a signing the IRFU could have made had they treated Marty Moore with a bit more respect. After the Wasps deal was signed, the IRFU and Leinster love bombed him and he had a last-minute change of heart. But by then the contract was signed, sealed and delivered and Wasps weren't going to budge without being bought out. Unions have to swallow their pride and try and butter up the top players a little bit these days because they're the ones holding the cards.

Ulster have been famously a lot more flexible with Ruan Pienaar than many French clubs would be in terms of giving him breaks during the season and letting him pursue any international ambitions he has, and with Meyer still regularly selecting him and his family settled in well we were able to retain him at the end of his contract. That was despite Toulon offering more chance of silverware, almost certainly more money and certainly better weather! I honestly believe that while we pay those few marquee players we bring in very well, we're far from the top end of the market in terms of our overall budget and we only get so many good signings because we try everything to make the player feel comfortable, wanted and basically forge a relationship with the player and with the players family.

Same with how Quins dealt with Nev, he's an out standing player who could have picked any team he wanted. But he stayed loyal to us for far more then the money, the club have treated him very well, rested him when he wants, managed his recovery and given him other focus such as coaching and mentoring to keep him interested.

Is Handre Pollard related to a Vicky Pollard?

doctor_grey wrote:Is Handre Pollard related to a Vicky Pollard?

Your secret crush Doc?


More seriously the whole insurance thing is a mess. It would be much better if insurance was handled through World Rugby to cover 365 days rather than the current mess.

Take someone like George North - he has insurance provided by the club which covers him when he is on club duty, insurance from WRU to cover him when he is with Wales but only during official international windows and personal insurance (probably) to cover him when he is with Wales in non-international window. Add in the policy he will have with RPA to cover a career ending injury and that will be four different policies - all with loopholes.

LondonTiger wrote:Add in the policy he will have with RPA to cover a career ending injury and that will be four different policies - all with loopholes.

Think he has a fifth when he's with the Lions. If he wanted to play sevens, then he could add more - I think you get one overall for playing in the HSBC series, then competitions like the Olympics and Commonwealth games need separate cover.