The protracted legal battle between World Cup-winning Springbok lock Bakkies Botha and his employers, the Blue Bulls Company (BBC), is not just about the player's wishes to join French club Toulon.

It has become a test case for South African rugby's labour regulations and contractual laws - an issue that will have far-reaching implications for the relations between players and their 'employers (read national and domestic governing bodies).

This website can reveal exclusively that the South African Rugby Players' Association (Sarpa) - which strive for the improvement of employment and economic conditions for the country's players - are following the developments with "great interest".

Botha brought an application - in terms of Section 158(1)(a)(iii)(iv) and (vii) of the Labour Relations Act, 66 of 1995 - in the Johannesburg Labour court to obtain a release from the five-year extension he signed to his contract - which ties him to the Bulls till 2011.

Contract dispute

The Bok second row forward, who has gone public with his wishes to join the ambitious French Second Division (Pro D2) outfit Toulon - who have lost the services of fellow World Cup-winning Bok Victor Matfield - disputes the validity of his contract with the Bulls.

He wants the court to declare the contract nul and void - which would force the Bulls to sign a clearance certificate that will allow him to move to France.

The court case, originally scheduled for last Wednesday in the Johannesburg labour court, has been postponed till May 30 in order to allow the Bulls a "fair and reasonable chance" to prepare for the case.

We can reveal that Sarpa - who have long been eyeing the far more efficacious FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) Regulations for the Status and Transfer of Players - will be one of the key role players in the court drama.

Sarpa CEO Piet Heymans, who will be one of the witnesses in the court case, admitted that they had offered their "support" for Botha - who turned down the offer, as he will be represented by Bernie Habana, who is the father of International Rugby Board (IRB) Player of the Year Bryan Habana.

Apart from Heymans's involvement as a witness, Sarpa see the legal battle as a "test case" and a "great wake-up call" for South African rugby - with a number of labour related problems between players and their 'employers' in recent years.

At the heart of the dispute, and the matter that most interests Sarpa, is the legal rights of the players to "make a living" and thus change 'employers' when better offers come up - which, in turn, puts the "transfer regulations" of the South African rugby scene in the spotlight.

Heymans, who has been working for some time to get a proper transfer system in place, is a devotee of the FIFA transfer regulations.

Under the FIFA regulations if a professional is transferred before the expiry of his contract, any club that has contributed to his (rugby) education and training shall receive compensation - called a solidarity contribution or transfer fee.

Compensation is calculated with due consideration for the law of the country concerned, the specificity of sport, and any other objective criteria. These criteria include, in particular, the remuneration and other benefits due to the player under the existing contract and/or the new contract, the time remaining on the existing contract up to a maximum of five years, the fees and expenses paid or incurred by the former club (amortised over the term of the contract).

Transfer fees

In the case of Botha it would mean that Toulon would have to pay the Bulls the remainder of Botha's contract - in this case the remaining four years at R1.15-million ($160 000) per year (a total of R4.6-million - $640 000). That is over and above what Toulon would pay Botha - said to be three times his current Bulls contract.

That kind of regulation would make it less affordable for the cash-flush European clubs to lure top South African players who have signed long-term deals.

The other issues in Botha's application against the Bulls - such as his complaint about a lack of leave and his image rights - will become secondary issues.

The main issues will be testing, according to the South African law, if players (in this case Botha) are the property of the employers (in this case the Bulls) and have the right to seek alternative employment when they become disillusioned with their current employer - despite having a long-term contract in place.

There is no doubt the Botha case has opened a can of worms that will ensure the player-union relationship is forever altered and that all parties will in future look carefully at how they approach contract negotiations.

Meanwhile it was revealed on Friday that Botha's Bulls team-mate, centre JP Nel, will be joining French club Brive on a two-year contract.

No further particulars of the deal were made available.