Johannesburg – Former Springbok Albert van den Berg will no longer be in the employ at the Lions, a statement from the union read on Wednesday morning.
Van den Berg has opted to not renew his contract with the Lions Rugby Company (LRC), vacating the portfolio of forwards and line-out coach for the senior team. Previous reports revealed that Van den Berg had accused the team’s technical analyst, Chris Venter, of spying on and photographing the former Test players whatsapp messages on his laptop.
The messages in question are alleged to have involved agent Dane Galley during a period in which off-field controversies and unhappiness within the squad was being exposed to the media and public.
Chief among those locker-room revelations was a MyPlayers survey taken in December last year in which players assigned a sub-par 3/10 rating to head coach Ivan van Rooyen, among others. Another leaked report revealed unhappiness regarding the standard of logistic and operations management during the Lions European tour in the United Rugby Championship (URC) and EPCR Challenge Cup earlier this year, including the infamous hotdog-gate scandal.
The Lions participation in both those competitions came to an end this past month after they finished ninth in the former and were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Glasgow Warriors in the latter.
“On behalf of our chairman, Mr Altmann Allers and the LRC board, we would like to thank Albert for his contribution to the team over the past two seasons,” Lions CEO Rudolf Straeuli said in the statement.
“He joined us at a time when the franchise embarked on our URC debut season and later, the Challenge Cup. We wish him and his family all the best as they embark on their next chapter.”
It remains unclear where and if Van den Berg – capped 51 times for SA – will continue his coaching career.
What also remains in a grey area, is the future of head coach Van Rooyen. IOL understands that Van Rooyen and the union are currently in talks regarding possibly renewing his contract.
After their last URC game this past weekend, a 50-35 victory against Zebre, Van Rooyen explained that there would be clarity in the next week or two regarding his coaching career at the union. Earlier this year it was revealed that Jaque Fourie had committed for another two years as assistant coach in Doornfontein.
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