Western Province Rugby has drawn up a list of 19 players who it is willing to sell in order to cut salary costs.
According to Rapport newspaper, the list includes the names of hooker Scarra Ntubeni, lock Chris van Zyl (WP’s Currie Cup-winning captain in 2017), utility back Craig Barry, centre Dan Kriel and scrumhalf Justin Phillips.
The list has been sent to the Cheetahs, Kings, Pumas and Griquas. However, only 11 players are available immediately, with the remaining nine only to be sold or loaned out after the Currie Cup.
The beleaguered union reportedly has to cut its budget by at least R20-million and the release of underutilised players is one of WP’s methods of reaching that mark.
The players available with immediate effect are Caleb Oosthuizen, Neethling Fouche, Piet-Louw Strauss, Dean Muir, Steph de Witt, Luke Stringer, Nasha Tarusenga, Justin Phillips, Dan Kriel and Grant Hermanus.
The players available after Currie Cup are Scarra Ntubeni, Chris van Zyl, Reuben de Villiers, Nama Xaba, Josh Stander, David Brits, Nico Leonard, Duncan Saal and Craig Barry.
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