& 2008. Two other games were played against Namibia in Windhoek The Spears were told that they would not be included in the 2007 Super 14 over issues of competitiveness. All financial reporting in the Spears organization, was made by SA Rugby Pty Ltd who had all players and management as salaried employees of SA Rugby and made all financial disbursements. Total expenditure of the Spears in 2006 was R6m of the R12m budget. Shortly after the election of Hoskins in March 2006 as the new President of SA Rugby, declared that the Spears were "ill prepared to compete" and targeted the CEO Tony McKeever as the target of a campaign to marginalise him and was "suspended pending an investigation". This was widely seen as a further move by SA Rugby to strong arm the smaller shareholder unions to sideline McKeever in May 2006, who had been tenacious in his stance in ensuring that SA Rugby and its member unions not breach its 8 June 2005 agreement with the franchise. The alleged "suspension" by the Spears Board was declared as unlawful by the Grahamstown High Court and McKeever's attorneys, pointed out the gross irregularity and recklessness by the Spears board and McKeever's suspension was "lifted" by the Grahamstown High Court, barely a week of it being imposed In addition, payments of salaries to Spears' personnel were unilaterally suspended by SA Rugby in June 2006. The Spears were also due to compete in the 2006 Currie Cup competition, but that was put in doubt due to the refusal by SA Rugby to continue financially supporting the Spears. Legal battle McKeever's legal counsel of Advocates Norman Arendse and Geoff Budlender, produced to the High Court, the Presidents Council resolution of 8 June 2005, plus supporting documents from SA Rugby confirming this agreement. These documents supported McKeever's contention that SA Rugby had abandoned the franchise and failed to adhere to the agreement signed and ratified by the SA Rugby Board on 2 December 2005, after which a further Franchise Participation Agreement was drawn up by SA Rugby for all 6 franchises including the Southern Spears, to sign before 10 February 2006. On 21 July the Cape Town High Court heard the closing arguments from both the Spears and the SARU/SA Rugby (Pty) Ltd. Whilst the Spears argued that the SARU, and its commercial associate, SA Rugby were legally bound to include the Spears