A four-man panel will rule next week on whether the Northampton prop Soane Tonga'uiha had the right to change his mind about joining Saracens for next season and to re-sign for the Saints, after an attempt at arbitration failed today.
The 28-year-old Tonga'uiha signed a heads of terms agreement with Saracens in January after accepting the offer of a five-year contract. Last week he said he had changed his mind and, arguing that he had not made a legally binding deal with Saracens, signed a new three-year contract with Northampton.
Saracens protested to Premier Rugby, saying the first page of the agreement Tonga'uiha had signed with them had the words "legally binding" on it. Saracens' chief executive, Edward Griffiths, criticised Northampton and said he expected the prop to turn up for pre-season training in July as the Tongan was not entitled to sign a new agreement with the Saints.
Griffiths and his Northampton counterpart, Allan Robson, met the Premier Rugby chief executive, Mark McCafferty, today but after a couple of hours it was clear that there was no chance of the two clubs resolving the matter between themselves. Both sides agreed not make any further comments until the panel had met.
Under the Premiership regulations, any dispute over a player's contract must be referred to the Professional Game Board, a body made up of representatives from Premier Rugby and the Rugby Football Union. McCafferty asked the RFU to agree to a constituent panel to sit in judgment, in an attempt to speed up the process, with Saracens running out of time to sign a replacement for Tonga'uiha should they lose the case.
It would be made up of two or three representatives drawn from the other 10 Premiership clubs and one or two from the RFU. The aim is to stage the hearing as quickly as possible, preferably by the middle of next week. The club that loses the case will have the right to appeal to the RFU. The panel does not have the power to tell Tonga'uiha where to play but will merely rule which club has the rightful claim on him. If the decision goes in Saracens' favour and the prop maintains he wants to stay at Northampton, he would have to negotiate a compensation package with the Vicarage Road club.
Meanwhile, the London Irish No8 Chris Hala'ufia has been cited for an alleged dangerous tackle on the fly-half Dave Walder during Sunday's 33-22 Premiership defeat at Wasps. His case will be heard on Wednesday.
