WPRFU president Thelo Wakefield says reports that the Stormers could receive as much as a R15-million financial settlement for the release of Eddie Jones are way off the mark, writes CRAIG LEWIS.

With Jones accepting a lucrative four-year deal as England head coach, there has been speculation over the figure it would have cost to extricate him from his three-year Stormers contract.

Although certain reports suggested it could be up to R15-million (£700,000), other claims have subsequently stated that it is considerably less. Possibly around the R2-million mark.

Wakefield said he wouldn't reveal confidential figures, but insisted it wasn't anywhere near R15-million.

'There is a transfer fee involved, but I am not going to divulge the figure. It's confidential between us and the RFU. Be assured of the fact, though, that it's not near R15-million as reported in some newspapers.'

Wakefield said Jones's decision to leave the Stormers was a massive disappointment, but insisted that a recovery plan was well underway.

'We were obviously excited about taking on a new approach, and I think we all felt that we'd landed a big fish, but there was no way we could stop him or match the offer from England. It's impossible to compete with the pound.'

Photo: Ziyaad Douglas/Gallo Images