Club slams De Beer after walkout

LONDON -- English club Sale launched a blistering attack on South African World Cup fly-half Jannie de Beer yesterday as they released the Springbok from his contract with the club.

De Beer is to repay money that had been advanced to him by the club, but Sale director of rugby Adrian Hadley said he feels badly let down.

"I know De Beer is supposed to be a devout Christian, but in our experience neither his word, nor his signature, seems to count for much," Hadley said.

"He was happy enough to sign for us in the summer when he was without a club and we had planned our season around him. At that time he wasn't in the Springbok squad, but he was recalled and wanted to be released from his contract at Sale.

"Watching what he did to England on Sunday merely rubbed salt into the wound because, while he was enjoying the glory, we are left trying to find a high-calibre replacement at this advanced state in the season.

"All the boys have been looking forward to having him on board and now they feel very let down.

"In all our dealings with De Beer we showed good faith and, despite the difficult summer we had when our very future was in doubt, we honoured our obligations to all players, including De Beer," said Sale chief executive Graham Walker.

"But, at the end of the day, our priority is to our backers, to the rest of the playing squad and to our fans.

"We decided to let him go and concentrate on finding a replacement committed to playing for Sale as soon as possible." -- Sapa-AFP