Green, gold and All Black?
JJ Harmse
Sometimes I wonder about SA Rugby. The administration, that is. I wonder about how often they manage to do something stupid or, sometimes, get something wonderfully right.
How often do we hear about confusion amongst the president's council, uncertainty about the powers of the board or foot-in-mouth disease from officials and paid employees.
It just does not stop, but the most idiotic of all comments were kept for December.
We were told early this week, via a press release from SA Rugby, how delighted the president, Oregan Hoskins was with the display of national symbols at the recent George sevens tournament. What utter rubbish.
The issue about some people waving the old South African flag during the Springboks tour in England was well reported and most notably Zola Yeye, the newly appointed team manager of the national side, expressed some strong views.
SA Rugby condemned it (the old lag) afterwards as well. The debate on the display of the old flag was quite ferocious and some reply's I received in response to last week's column about the issue drew some intense arguments. There were even some suggestions that I was defending the old flag and should leave the country as I am embracing the past.
What happened in George was unbelievable and SA Rugby's response via press release was even more so. Let me elaborate.
George had its fifth staging of an IRB tournament in a sevens series and I can honestly say that this was the best one ever. Attendance was very good, despite the inclement weather and for once, South Africa fronted up, although they fluffed their lines in the finals against New Zealand.
There was indeed, a huge show of green and gold, of the beautiful flag and good, honest support for the Boks and all African teams that were involved. That was good to see.
More disturbing though, was the huge support for New Zealand, in particular by a specific race group attending. It is a historical fact that many non-whites supported New Zealand in the past - because of our racial history - and even Trevor Manuel admitted once that he supported the All Blacks against the Springboks at Newlands earlier in the decade. They play fantastic rugby and are the most famous brand in the world of rugby.
What happened in George was that a large group of spectators, as they did every year, showed up in their All Black kit. They were proud All Black supporters and as the final whistle went and New Zealand had beaten South Africa, they all stormed the field to congratulate the Kiwis. Not even the police could stop them from running onto the field.
Most of those supporters are Afrikaans speaking and hail from the Southern Cape. As I've said, they numbered a couple of hundred amid most possibly a thousand spectators. What comment did SA Rugby make about them? Not a word.
Six of one and half a dozen of the other
It happened right there, in front of Mr Hoskins who was awarding the winning trophy to New Zealand, and it happened there right in front of the media manager who issued the statement about unity a day or so later. What were they seeing?
There is just one reason and one reason only why those people wore black and supported the All Blacks. The past. They support New Zealand because they hated the Springboks and what the team stood for over decades. In other words, because of things that happened in the past. Because of previous policies.
They are not prepared to accept change. They don't embrace the values of the new South Africa, they don't embrace the values of the Springbok sevens team. A team that for many seasons now has been the most transformed national side - captained by a black player. A team of winners, who have conquered titles in Asia, Australasia, Europe and the UK. A team that won globally, being proudly South African and the best example that sport can change lives and perceptions.
Our sevens team is respected all over the world and rightly so. However, when someone with an old flag attends a tournament to support them, all hell breaks loose. At the same time, in South Africa, we say nothing when at least a thousand locals dress in black, swear at the Springboks and support New Zealand?
No, no, no SA Rugby.
You have to prove that you don't have the same mental blocks those waving an old flag have. You must be strong and speak out when needed. You must be honest and admit that there were a lot of misguided people in George as well. By ignoring the blatant facts and trying to fool us with statements like this last one, you are just as guilty as those you condemn.
You can fool some people some of the time, but not all of the time. More importantly, why are you trying to fool yourselves?
News was from www.news24.co.za
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