The Springboks preparations for their three match Test series against England in June are being disrupted by a dispute over the allocation of money for the Springbok players.

A report from Beeld has revealed that South African Rugby Union (SARU) and the South African Rugby Players Association (SARPA) have been at loggerheads over payments.

The players are said to be unhappy that too big a portion of the money allocated to the national team will be held back by their provincial unions.

Negotiations to resolve the issue have been held between SARU and SARPA but the talks broke down and arbitrator will be called in to resolve the matter.

Springboks Jean de Villiers and Schalk Burger defended the players' interests.

Beeld says that they have been informed that SA's five Super franchises (unions), unlike in previous years, decided they will keep a portion of the money they'll receive from SARU and will not allocate the full amount to their Springbok players - this supposedly to compensate them for the times they won't have the services of their Boks.

The players are however unhappy with this and they believe that the full amount should be allocated to them.

SARU CEO Jurie Roux said that while the matter was upsetting he is confident the issue will be resolved before the England series.

SARPA CEO Piet Heymans said the total amount of money allocated is not the issue.

"It's about how it will be distributed. We agreed on the total amount, but not the way the money will be allocated. "

"We (the players) thus do not want more, just a shift in how it will be allocated."

SARPA was founded in 1998 as a union which negotiates on behalf of professional rugby players in South Africa.

It represents the players’ rights at SARU as well as playing a leading role in significant issues like insurance, medical aid and life skills for young up and coming players.

Sharks hooker Bismarck du Plessis is the current president of SARPA, with Bulls hooker Chiliboy Ralepelle the vice-president.