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After weeks of stalemate Siya Kolisi to Sharks is back on
By Neil Fissler
Siya Kolisi’s on-off return to the Sharks is firmly back on again after American businessman Vincent Mai stepped in and offered to finance the R17 million (around £726,000) transfer fee being demanded by Racing 92.
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RugbyPass exclusively reported a couple of weeks ago that the move, which we also broke, was on the verge of collapse after Racing President Jacky Lorenzetti adopted a hard-line approach to talks.
Lorenzetti, after his side’s Top 14 play-off defeat to Bordeaux in June, claimed Kolisi “gained weight, lost shape, and yesterday he was invisible” but despite those comments was in no mood to compromise over the fee.
The Sharks are trying to negotiate a payment plan that would spread the cash over the next two or three seasons, which Lorenzetti has turned down flat and said that he wanted the full payment upfront.
Financier Mai, the Chairman and CEO of Cranemere LLC, is part of the American consortium that owns the Sharks and who paid for Kolisi’s education at one of South Africa’s top sporting schools, Grey High.
Mai, who played rugby at the University of Cape Town, is still close to Kolisi, his wife Rachel, and his family, who have made no secret of their debt to him.
“Vincent is a fellow Grey boy and has invested in hundreds of kids in SA through bursaries, the majority of the time without ever meeting them. I was one of those kids.
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“Without the opportunity, there is no way I’d be where I am today. He sowed into my life without ever knowing what would come from it, and I couldn’t be more grateful,” said Kolisi after a visit to America in 2019.
Mai has now stepped in and has offered to pay the money to enable the Springbok skipper to return to the Sharks when the United Rugby Championship ends later next month.
Kolisi suffered a facial injury against the All Blacks yesterday in Ellis Park and will almost certainly miss next weekend’s fixture against this same side in Cape Town.
