SA Rugby has it wrong

I am, if you have not noticed by my past articles, a rugby enthusiast. I have had the privilege of coaching this game at some very competitive and talented levels. I usally revel in the July rugby week which is the U18 Craven Week, named after SA rugby legend Dr Danie Craven. However I am perplexed watching this year’s tournament.

For many years now there have been various ministers of sport, chairs of the sports portfolio committee at Parliament, residents of South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) and some rugby union officials calling for more colour in the game (I hate that phrase by the way.)

How have they done this? By aiming for the Springboks time and time again. Countless Bok coaches have been pressurised to include black players in the Bok team — ask Owen Nkumane or Breyton Paulse as very recent examples. This is NOT the place to sort out the racial divide which exists in rugby. And lets be honest with ourselves, there is a racial divide. The game of rugby as a picture is not as representative of SA as it could be at the highest or lowest level for that matter.

Now, before I get accused with all types of political clichés, I am 100% for talent-based selection, however this should be graduated all the way down through the ages. I would suggest it looking like this:

National selection for U21 and Senior Boks — 100% talent selection
National U19 and Super Rugby Franchise and Currie Cup — quota of three non-white players on the field
SA Schools/SA Academy (if selected) — seven non-white players on the field
Vodacom Cup and Varsity Cup — five non-white players on the field
U18 Craven Week, U16 provincial week, U13 provincial week — seven non-white players on the field

Why am I re-opening this sensitive discussion (if it was ever closed)? Because in SA we have South African issues which need South African solutions. We have failed to properly address this issue adequately. How do I know this? I am watching the Craven Week which is being staged in Kimberley right now — I have watched Limpopo Blue Bulls vs Griffons, Zimbabwe vs Border CD, Valke vs SWD — I can tell you that in each team if I saw three players of colour as an average as the maximum.

That is simply not acceptable. If I watch the craven week as an absolute stranger to this country I would surmise that white children are still the only children who go to school. How is this possible in 2011? Why can the Spears not select a 100% non-white rugby team to play in this tournament, why can we not send an SA Future Stars team with only non-white players sponsored by Coca Cola to the tournament?

The sponsors also need to up their game in demanding this from SA rugby. ABSA, Coca Cola, Vodacom and Castle — these companies all have BEE score cards don’t they? If we cannot sort this issue out at U13, U16 and U18 representative level we will never sort it out at the higher levels.

While this is being inappropriately dealt with, any non-white player that shows a semblance of talent is rushed into a green squad for the SA Rugby Union, which provides little more than a superficial structure.

How disgraceful. Rugby administration to date should be embarrassed. The non-white player gets a contract which provides money he really is not sure what to do with and this player warms the bench or gets game time in the weaker games, or maybe 10 minutes here and there. How is any Springbok coach supposed to select a national team representative of this amazing country when he has absolutely nothing to work with at all?

SA Rugby is still getting it grossly wrong in my opinion. One could even do away with the SA schools selection and select a talent squad of 100 rugby players who, at their home union, go into intense training and specialisation based on all the science in rugby as well as the techniques, and the Bok coach should be integral to planning this.

Do not fear what I am suggesting in this article, embrace it, because if it is done properly then quotas will in time become a non-issue, which is what I would think should be the case today but is not.

Unfortunately my view now is that non-white players are still there as symbols; we are selecting what has to be selected to avoid being questioned. We (well I, for certain) don’t want symbols. We want all sportsmen and women selected on merit. It only becomes political when it fails like it is failing now.

I am not interested in hearing any attempt at justifying what I believe to be a very sad state of affairs for youth rugby in South Africa. All I want to see is a concrete strategy to address it. If SA rugby needs my contact details and can afford my services I will do it happily. Take a leaf out of Nike’s marketing and Just do it!

Here’s hoping to the correction of a failing system.