I know Allister Coetzee is still in his job, but I have to ask: Is there is no place for other black men or women at the top levels of South African rugby?
I ask this question because the South African Rugby Union and the rugby fraternity at large in this country are quick to talk about the need for transformation, and it being imperative in growing the game. But sometimes I wonder if that is not all a big white lie.
I wonder about that because I often feel the actions of the rugby fraternity speak of a sport that is holding on for dear life to the ways of the past and making sure that the sport remains exclusive to the minority and only a sprinkling of the majority.
A clear example of what I am talking about is yesterday’s official confirmation that Springbok backline coach Mzwandile Stick has been demoted to the Junior Springboks as an assistant coach.
It is baffling that in all the rugby minds that are in the Springbok management team, Stick seems to be the one who has been blamed for the shocking results and performances of the Springbok team last year.
Yes, I understand that there were a lot of questions around Stick’s appointment because of his lack of experience. But his credentials as a player can never be questioned and he is still the only captain of the Springbok Sevens team to win the World Series.
Just like many of his white counterparts Stick started coaching at junior provincial level but unlike his white counterparts, Stick was able to win the Under-19 interprovincial title with an unfancied Eastern Province side against better resourced teams.
His elevation to the Southern Kings as assistant coach was well deserved and didn’t come as a surprise.
Even though his appointment to the Springbok job might have been a little early in his career, it was no different from many other white coaches and assistants who have been afforded the same opportunities with fewer qualifications than Stick.
The whole fuss around Stick’s appointment just confirmed to me (and I think to many other black rugby lovers) that rugby in this country doesn’t always value the contribution that black people can make. Stick, though, is not the first and certainly won’t be the last to be used and dumped by SA rugby, and his name is just one of many that have come before him.
Remember Dumisani Mhani?
Remember Alfred Mzizi?
Remember Peter Maimane?
Remember John Williams?
Remember Eric Sauls?
Remember Peter de Villiers?
Remember Paul Treu?
Remember Ricardo Loubscher?
These are just a few names that SA rugby has used and chucked away citing incompetence and/or a lack of coaching experience.
Even when black coaches have been given the opportunity in the past like De Villiers with the Springboks and Treu with the Blitzboks, the successes of their teams were never because they were good coaches it was always because they had good players in their teams. In the same breath when their teams didn’t do well, then it was always the coaches fault.
Until we have black Springbok and Super Rugby coaches who are there on their own terms and given the same support as their white counterparts have been handed in the past, we can never talk about true transformation.
Until Saru and the rugby fraternity appreciate the competence of black coaches and hand them proper opportunities instead of paying lip service, they will always have to deal with this uncomfortable question: Are black people really made to feel welcome in SA rugby?