Connacht Team Talk Thread V - The Friend Zone

Diabhal Beag

There was a Fijian lad who who had a contract terminated for gouging before travelling here. Can see this have the same outcome.

Clegg

So he was already known to police?

Feck that get rid now.

She suffered bruising to the side of her face and waist and bleeding to her knee.

The police prosecutor said Reece was already on notice after being blacklisted by police and his offending comes at a time when the government was spending large amounts of money to deter family violence.

Clegg

Gerry Thornley has a piece in the IT saying it's now unlikely that Reece will be joining Connacht in November.

https://www.google.ie/amp/s/www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/pro14/connacht-expected-to-end-interest-in-sevu-reece-1.3647980

Buer

Connacht need to get in front of this and make a statement cancelling the deal as soon as they can.

Who did the due diligence on this lad? Known to police and drinking problem?

FirstFiveEigth

This is a disaster from a playing perspective given how good he looked in the match highlights we've seen, but we can't allow someone like that in the club, the deal is dead surely. Thnkfully back 3 is an area where we have a couple of options though. I've no idea what sort of salary he'd command but maybe it could be used to bolster our front row which has struggled badly from a lack of depth.

Bridge93

This can’t go ahead. Attitudes from some of wider society to rugby players in this country is tense enough already given what’s gone on this year

Hurrache

Yeah, in light of what happened in Ulster it would be madness. I wonder what the issue is that they're seeking clarification on. The violent incident is pretty clear cut, so maybe it's a contractual issue such as a morality clause.

prawnsambo

It was also on OTB tonight. Very little likelihood of it going under the radar now. Game over if there's a clause in his contract. I'd be very surprised if their isn't, considering what's gone before.

Wegians89

The Friend Zone

prawnsambo wrote: »

It was also on OTB tonight. Very little likelihood of it going under the radar now. Game over if there's a clause in his contract. I'd be very surprised if their isn't, considering what's gone before.

Ronaldo story’s breaking might sweep it under the radar

Former Former

You've got a Friend in me

Wegians89 wrote: »

Ronaldo story’s breaking might sweep it under the radar

Or more likely it will make other teams, Irish rugby included, even more eager to make sure they've minimal skeletons in the closet.

From a rugby perspective, I'd suggest the last thing Connacht need is another lightning quick winger with defensive frailties.

Hurrache

Wegians89 wrote: »

Ronaldo story’s breaking might sweep it under the radar

The odd thing about that is that it's out a day or two and there's relatively little general publicity about it, especially as it seems factual rather than speculative.

Wegians89

The Friend Zone

Hurrache wrote: »

The odd thing about that is that it's out a day or two and there's relatively little general publicity about it, especially as it seems factual rather than speculative.

Las Vegas police department made a statement today that the journal are running. Think it will explode over the next day or two

Hurrache

Saw that earlier. The guys from Der Spiegel have a pretty comprehensive thread detailing their fact checking and evidence. The fact his signature is there pretty much confirms it happened.

Zzippy

Dog Botherer wrote: »

Sevu Reece’s move might be in jeopardy after drunkenly assaulting his girlfriend. According to Neil Tracey on Twitter Connacht are seeking further information before making a decision.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=12134952

Tear up the contract. Don't need that kind of guy in our team, nor do we need the kind of publicity that would bring.

Buer

Zzippy wrote: »

Tear up the contract. Don't need that kind of guy in our team, nor do we need the kind of publicity that would bring.

It would be utter madness for them to proceed with the signing in the current climate and given events of the past 10 months.

I would imagine Connacht are just going through due process and ticking boxes before making an announcement.

evil_seed

The Friend Zone

We had Coulson and his allegations; we tore up his contract
We had Mils and his allegations; we dropped him and tore up his contract
We had the Fiji player that I'm too lazy to look up and his eye gouging; we cancelled that deal.
Now we have this. Time to add Sevu to the list;. Cancel the deal.

edit: Just to add, I've a mate from NZ and his club is the same as Reeces. This is not the 1st time he's been in trouble.

Squidgy Black

I'd say the lawyers are looking over it as we speak making sure everything's lined up to set it on fire.

With all the controversy over the last 12 months or so it'd be absolute press suicide to continue with the signing. The view of rugby players in the public eye on this island is tarnished enough without signing a player with domestic violence issue.

iminterestd0

Whats happened to Shane Delahunt? Out of favour?

Richie_Rich89

Mul, it's over

I wouldn't be surprised if Connacht and the IRFU are being played here with these revelations aboyt Reece. Elements in NZ probably want to see him remain there so he can come through for the Chiefs and potentially the All Blacks.

Zzippy

Richie_Rich89 wrote: »

I wouldn't be surprised if Connacht and the IRFU are being played here with these revelations aboyt Reece. Elements in NZ probably want to see him remain there so he can come through for the Chiefs and potentially the All Blacks.

The allegations/police interactions are a matter of public record. If someone in NZ "played" Connacht by publicising or revealing the information, to be honest we should thank them for doing it in a timely manner.

FirstFiveEigth

evil_seed wrote: »

We had Coulson and his allegations; we tore up his contract
We had Mils and his allegations; we dropped him and tore up his contract

Weren't they both out of contract anyway? Don't think that's what actually happpened in either case. Anyway it's pretty much irrelevant, as much as I'd love us to have a player of the calibre of Reece, the signing seems very unlikely now that we know this isn't his first run-in with the police.

Wegians89

The Friend Zone

evil_seed wrote: »

We had Coulson and his allegations; we tore up his contract
We had Mils and his allegations; we dropped him and tore up his contract
We had the Fiji player that I'm too lazy to look up and his eye gouging; we cancelled that deal.
Now we have this. Time to add Sevu to the list;. Cancel the deal.

edit: Just to add, I've a mate from NZ and his club is the same as Reeces. This is not the 1st time he's been in trouble.

According to the nz media, the judge took into account that it was his first court appearance. So what ever sort of trouble he’s supposedly been in before must not have been too bad

Wegians89

The Friend Zone

FirstFiveEigth wrote: »

Weren't they both out of contract anyway? Don't think that's what actually happpened in either case. Anyway it's pretty much irrelevant, as much as I'd love us to have a player of the calibre of Reece, the signing seems very unlikely now that we know this isn't his first run-in with the police.

Both were out of contracts yeah, niether had a contract torn up. They just weren’t renewed. I’d say mils probably won’t have been renewed regardless

Former Former

You've got a Friend in me

https://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/107501255/Waikato-rugby-star-Sevuloni-Reece-discharged-without-conviction-on-assault-charge

A letter from the head of operations for Connacht submitted in court documents said that a conviction would mean the contract was withdrawn.

If conviction = no contract, doesn't it probably follow that no conviction = contract?

Buer

I'm sure there are stipulations within the contract regarding code of conduct and a cooling off period also allowing Connacht to pull the plug outside of a straightforward conviction. The situation is untenable. He can't play in Ireland given how things have transpired over the past year. The story has not been kept quiet, it has been reported widely in the national media at this point. The only surprising thing is that it was kept quiet for 3 months.

Maybe Connacht don't have the open and shut case to tear up his contract and will have to give him a settlement fee but they simply cannot bring him into their squad now.

From what I can gather, the incident happened several months ago. Connacht were made aware and sent a letter stating that a conviction would result in termination of the offer. I'm not trying to get a rise here but that's questionable from Connacht to begin with if that's the case. They'll have people on the ground in NZ who could have obtained the the police report/details pretty easily. I've no doubt they'd have had a pretty good idea of what took place when they provided that letter. They should have killed this whole thing at the earliest opportunity. And, on reflection, given the length of time since the incident, Connacht/IRFU know full well whether they can terminate the deal or not at this point.

connemara man

The Friend Zone

Former Former wrote: »

https://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/107501255/Waikato-rugby-star-Sevuloni-Reece-discharged-without-conviction-on-assault-charge



If conviction = no contract, doesn't it probably follow that no conviction = contract?

They said that the contract would be cancelled in the event of conviction, not charge. But that is a simple confirmation of fact. Obviously a conviction would have terminated the contract.
They didn't say that a lack of conviction would preclude the cancellation of the contract. Semantics I know but the law is like that.

With the review ongoing and it picking up traction he won't be playing for Connacht hopefully

Wegians89

The Friend Zone

connemara man wrote: »

They said that the contract would be cancelled in the event of conviction, not charge. But that is a simple confirmation of fact. Obviously a conviction would have terminated the contract.
They didn't say that a lack of conviction would preclude the cancellation of the contract. Semantics I know but the law is like that.

With the review ongoing and it picking up traction he won't be playing for Connacht hopefully

John Fallon came out this morning and said he it wouldn’t be going ahead, if consider him to have a bit of insight

Wegians89

The Friend Zone

Buer wrote: »

I'm sure there are stipulations within the contract regarding code of conduct and a cooling off period also allowing Connacht to pull the plug outside of a straightforward conviction. The situation is untenable. He can't play in Ireland given how things have transpired over the past year. The story has not been kept quiet, it has been reported widely in the national media at this point. The only surprising thing is that it was kept quiet for 3 months.

Maybe Connacht don't have the open and shut case to tear up his contract and will have to give him a settlement fee but they simply cannot bring him into their squad now.

From what I can gather, the incident happened several months ago. Connacht were made aware and sent a letter stating that a conviction would result in termination of the offer. I'm not trying to get a rise here but that's questionable from Connacht to begin with if that's the case. They'll have people on the ground in NZ who could have obtained the the police report/details pretty easily. I've no doubt they'd have had a pretty good idea of what took place when they provided that letter. They should have killed this whole thing at the earliest opportunity. And, on reflection, given the length of time since the incident, Connacht/IRFU know full well whether they can terminate the deal or not at this point.

I think Connacht are taking their time, tasting response to it before deciding. From a purely rugby point of view I’m sure they’re dying to get Reece into the squad

Buer

Wegians89 wrote: »

I think Connacht are taking their time, tasting response to it before deciding. From a purely rugby point of view I’m sure they’re dying to get Reece into the squad

I'd imagine that's the case, alright. I just find the optics of it a little questionable. They released a statement which suggests (to me) that it's new enough to them:

"Connacht Rugby and the IRFU are aware of media reports concerning Sevu Reece and his recent court appearance.

"We are currently seeking to clarify information around the situation prior to commenting further on the matter."

Whilst they don't say it outright, it certainly suggests that they're still only learning details. Obviously though given the letter presented in court, they've been well clued in on it for quite some time. It will be very interesting to see how it plays out if the situation dies down and they proceed.

Hurrache

Richie_Rich89 wrote: »

I wouldn't be surprised if Connacht and the IRFU are being played here with these revelations aboyt Reece. Elements in NZ probably want to see him remain there so he can come through for the Chiefs and potentially the All Blacks.

So he was drugged with a memory erasing potion, his girlfriend beaten up by a paid goon and warned she better play along, and when he came to he was convinced he was the one that beat her up.

Sounds plausible, I think you're onto something.