Springboks: How To Tackle The Bullshitters

It would be wonderful if we could pretend that the Nation Building that the Springbok World Cup Win brought about was ever going to last. That failure is not, I believe, thanks to the people on the ground, but those on their pedestals. They rubbed their hands, these political hijackers, smelling money, smelling another opportunity to play the race card, and to surf it for all its worth.

This is about hijacking rugby's Money & Power Pot. It's an ego trip. And why not? Why shouldn't they hijack SA rugby? Why shouldn't they annex the Boks, install their own coaches, and go waltzing around the world, wearing their green rugby jerseys, high fives all the way. Why not? because it's not going to happen boet, and it's not going to happen because we the Real Rugby Loving Masses aren't going to LET it happen. Who gave them permission to ride rough shod over our team, to cash in our winners and trade them in for a sort of experimental Red Rover Red Rover. This is still our game, it belongs to the people, it belongs to us, not to a bunch of scratching, spiteful politicians and their handful of moth eaten union puppets.

If you've been to any of the Currie Cup games you'll know what I'm talking about when I say black people in South Africa don't watch rugby. They watch soccer. Until the Boks won the world cup and it became part of the national zeitgeist, they really didn't care about the game. If they do care about the sport - and I'm sure some do - they don't do it in the grandstands, and they certainly didn't before the Boks won the rugby world cup. But did they ever?

Many newspapers make the subtle claim that suddenly when the Boks had captured what might be called a worldwide audience, certain influential black men donned springbok jerseys. Very very interesting Peterrr.

I am sure there are exceptions. I'm sure a few chaps in the Eastern Cape dig the sport, always did, and always will. In the same way I am sure there are a few (maybe four) white people who go to the PSL games wearing Kaizer Chiefs or Pirates shirts. I dunno. I don't. SA soccer's not my thing. It may or may not change closer to the world cup. The people who do go to those soccer games, did you ever see whities in the stadium? Cos I specifically looked when I was in Bloem and I swear I didn't see a single black face in the orange crowd (but a few on the field). And that's fine. We like Kabamba. He has a good attitude. He's a workhorse. Is he a Bok? No, like Jake said, he's not heavy enough. And that's how it works. You earn your place. That said, Floors is a damn fine Cheetah.

Moving right along...if we're going to play Quota Quota I actually like the idea of a Barbarian side, an All White South Africa team to test our own All Black team. See the argument from some black South Africans is that we're intentionally blocking the way forward for wannabe black springboks. People who love the game know that is crap. If this were true, the likes of Bryan Habana would not be in the team. Anyone can see that everyone wants the Boks to win, no matter who is wearing the jersey.

But the powers insist that they want a Black Bok team, with a Black Victor Matfield, and a black Os, so let's keep a 'White' team on standby. We can have both teams play each other from time to time, and then choose the best players from both teams (that's really code for still choosing all the black players).
Okay so since that remains a futile experiment, let's take a leaf out of a couple of expats and other hardcore supporters' books in New Zealand (I mean, you keep hearing those two words, don't you, All Blacks...).

The Big Idea

The idea is based on historical precedent. Once upon a time, the Springboks were banned for being a racist team from a racist country. I think that needs to happen again. The new All Black Springboks can start their training etc, but then I'd like to call all lovers of rugby to effectively ban them.

How this blacklisting would work is, effectively, South African supporters would simply stop going to the stadiums, stop buying tickets. Stay at home, and when the Boks (aka The Losers) jog onto the field, let's tune into Survivor or Idols. That's as close to Reality Rugby as we're gonna get. A ticket-buying public is the bread and butter of SARU, and if they want a representative side, then let those this side represent, pitch up at the stadiums, win or lose as they say, and pay for a fine display of political scrummaging (I suppose you could watch Parliament TV for more exciting passing of the Bucks).

We can leave it to the rest of the world to entertain the charade that the Springboks will eventually become, but I'd suggest a blanket ban. Fair's fair. Perhaps in time, the shame and humiliation will be enough for the game to be given back to itself. I fear though, from here on out, it will never be the same again. Perhaps if those who take over get burnt and embarassed quickly and severely, there will be a u-turn. Once again, common sense has never been a strong point in South African politics, whether in sport or anywhere else. Isn't it a tremendous pity to lose the winning momentum that took so many years for the guys to develop?

More on this topic:
Those little White lies
Meyer looks set to leave Bulls for Boks