Sacking was a bolt out of the blue but discarded Tuqiri will fight for his money

Greg Growden Chief Rugby Correspondent | July 3, 2009


A "shocked" Lote Tuqiri received little warning he was in the Australian Rugby Union's gun sights and that his multimillion-dollar contract with the Wallabies was about to be torn up.

The Herald has been told Tuqiri was unaware the ARU was about to get rid of him until shortly before it was announced on Wednesday night his contract had been terminated three years early for unspecified reasons.

It is believed Tuqiri, who was on his last chance with the ARU after several incidents in 2007, had been investigated for a recent breach of team protocol which may relate to behaviour within the team hotel.

However, yesterday the ARU and Tuqiri's legal representatives refused to provide detail, or confirm or deny a breach of protocol or code of conduct had occurred, because of the strong possibility the matter could end up in court.

Nonetheless, last Sunday the ARU, when announcing that James O'Connor, Quade Cooper and Josh Valentine had been fined for their involvement in a food fight in Canberra, said it was investigating other potential breaches of protocol and/or code of conduct.

Speaking outside his Sydney house yesterday, Tuqiri did not reveal why he had been sacked.

"It's a legal matter. It's with the lawyers," he said. "It's a contract dispute and we're going from there. I have a really supportive family, which is really good, and a wife and kids who love me and I love them. Thanks for your support and hopefully you'll see me playing somewhere soon."
Tuqiri's legal representative, Mark O'Brien, declined to comment on the matter yesterday.
Close friends of Tuqiri told the Herald last night he was determined "to fight for his money".

At least Tuqiri kept his Twitter followers informed, telling them at 10.36pm on Wednesday: "Thanks for the support guys. A bit shocked and surprised at the moment." Then at 10.44am yesterday: "Got a whole heap of media camped outside my place. A bit wierd [sic]!!!" followed at 2.17pm by: "Just fronted media outside!! A bit nerve-racking but got it done. Hopefully that's taken care of them."

Earlier, at a tense media conference at ARU headquarters, chief executive John O'Neill denied he was involved in a personal agenda against the Wallabies winger.
"That's ridiculous. That's completely untrue and anyone who suggests that should think again. We are not going into the reasons for the termination," O'Neill said.
"We will be making no further comment because the termination of his contract may lead to legal proceedings. I see in the newspapers this morning there is the threat of legal proceedings.


"Lote Tuqiri and his management are aware of the reasons for the termination. If they want to discuss the situation with you, we have no problem with that."
O'Neill was asked if getting rid of Tuqiri was an opportunity for the ARU to save a considerable amount of money for a player who was out of favour.

"That wasn't part of our consideration," O'Neill replied. "Clearly a decision to terminate a contract is one that requires a lot of consideration. We gave that consideration and reached the conclusion with our eyes wide open.

"It's in the public arena that back in mid-August 2007 Lote was provided with a letter from me which indicated that due to a couple of offences at the time, he was on warning, and that further breaches would not be tolerated."

O'Neill was referring to Tuqiri being stood down for two Tests after failing to attend a team medical, followed by a midnight curfew being imposed on him and Matt Dunning after an incident at their Brisbane team hotel.

The players and several others were in Dunning's hotel room until about 5.30am. A taxi driver was allegedly assaulted outside the hotel by a man who had been in the players' company. It was then that Tuqiri was tagged "Last Chance Lote".
The NSW Rugby Union was consulted on the Tuqiri issue and agreed with the decision to sack the 29-year-old player.

The Australian Rugby Union Players' Association yesterday said it was "shocked and saddened" to hear of Tuqiri's sacking.

"I was disappointed to learn through the media that one of our members' employment contracts was terminated," RUPA chief executive Tony Dempsey said.
"I would have thought the ARU would have extended us the courtesy of advising us of their actions before advising the general public."

http://www.rugbyheaven.com.au/news/n...e#contentSwap1

I think that the telling factor in this whole sarry tale is that Lote ISN'T saying "I've been dismissed unfairly and I want my job back", but rather, "I want my money!"

Never has Twitter been more appropriately titled :verysad:

Bit of a nothing story, when you have nothing new on a big story just regurgitate what everyone already knows.

TG is spot on - the silence from Lote is deafening - if he wasn't in breach we would have heard by now - so something must have occurred and it's bad enough that the Tahs aren't putting up a fight for him to come back for next season with or without an ARU contract.

Can the Tahs contract him without ARU permission - perhaps as a marque player?

I think even the marquee players have to be ARU approved TQ1.
That's not to say that maybe as a compromise position the ARU may not allow that however, I doubt the Tahs are in a position to offer him enough on their own to keep him and therefore would need to find a massive individual sponsor.