Bristol sue Dwyer over Stransky job

Bristol have taken legal action against former coach Bob Dwyer in respect of a £250,000 claim made against the club by Joel Stransky for an alleged breach of contract.

In an extraordinary scene, Dwyer was served a writ by his former employers as he supervised a training session in his role as Barbarians coach just hours before last week's match against Australia at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.

The tangled legal web involving Stransky, the fly half whose extra-time drop goal won the World Cup for South Africa in 1995, Dwyer, Australia's triumphant coach at the previous World Cup in 1991, and one of Britain's oldest clubs stems from the events of 18 months ago.

Dwyer was then Bristol's director of rugby and Stransky a free agent after leaving Leicester.

The 34-year- old South African claims Dwyer offered him a job worth more than £100,000-a-year as the club's backs coach and that in June last year he was introduced as such to the players.

On June 26, Bristol issued a statement formally denying that Stransky had been offered any contract and that there were 'no plans for him to join the coaching staff'.

Dwyer then left the club to take up a coaching appointment with New South Wales in his native Sydney after an internal power struggle left Bristol's former England back row forward Dean Ryan in charge of the coaching team.

In March this year, Stransky alleged that Bristol had reneged on a deal to employ him as backs coach on a two-and-a-half-year contract.

A Bristol spokesman said: 'This is all very embarrassing, but we had no option other than to serve a writ on Bob alleging negligence on his part. Originally, Bob wanted to employ Stransky as a player-coach, but he could not do that because Stransky had already claimed for a permanent disability pension payout after finishing his playing career at Leicester through injury.

'Besides, we already had a player-coach in Dean Ryan, so we did not need another one. Stransky's work permit was running out and the RFU told us that it would not be renewed. We told Bob not to offer Stransky any contract.'

The spokesman claimed Dwyer was told: "You can't do this." 'But Bob went ahead and did it. As a result, he was suspended by the club and then, shortly afterwards, he left. He has to be accountable, which is why we have taken this action.'

Dwyer is said to have been 'shocked and annoyed' at being confronted by Bristol's legal representatives.