The head of transformation in South African cricket has taken a swipe at his rugby counterparts, describing the pace of rugby’s transformation as “unacceptable”.
On Sunday, news broke that the SA Rugby Union (Saru) proposes to rule that black players should make up 50 percent of national and provincial sides by 2019 – a plan that it says has the support of all 14 of its member unions.
The target is for all representative teams to contain 50 percent black players within five years but Bok coach Heyneke Meyer will be bound by targets as soon as next year’s World Cup in the UK – a requirement to select a side featuring at least five black players.
In all cases, 60 percent of all black players should be “black African”.
Norman Arendse, SC, who is the lead director on the board of Cricket South Africa, and also chairs its transformation committee, declined to comment on the Saru proposal as he had not seen it. But on Springbok rugby’s transformation in general, he said: “I saw (Saru chairman) Oregan Hoskins in a restaurant – and I told him it seems to me that we’re going backwards.
“As a rugby-lover and supporter, I watch as many games as I can at Newlands. I don’t think we’ve had as much talent as we have now among generically black players – yet I don’t understand why they can’t get into the Springbok team.”
And this he blamed on Meyer’s game plan. “It’s so conservative, so focused on the physical game, so you rule out certain players from some of our communities, because you need these big strong guys who play nine or 10-man rugby,” Arendse said.
“The current levels of transformation are unacceptable – it’s long overdue.
“I was one who would squeeze into Newlands as a laaitie, and since I saw Bryan Williams playing, I was sold as an All Black.
“I made the transition about five-six years ago, from also being an All Black supporter. Right now I’m so ambivalent about this group of Springboks. When we lost on Saturday, I wasn’t even disappointed. It’s that bad,” Arendse said.
With the national cricket set-up, “we asserted our transformation plan to the coach and selectors. They’re still left with discretion. But it’s paying dividends.”
The current target was four generically black players on the field at any one time.
“At times we’ve exceeded that – with six generically black players on the field. And then we know we’ve moved to non-racial country – when there is full equality of opportunity.
City councillor Tony Ehrenreich has called for South African rugby to be wrested from a “Boere mafia” – who he alleges is even excluding white English-speaking players from the Springbok team.
In an attempt to understand this allegation, the Cape Argus established last night that Saru’s executive committee, which takes key decisions, has three presidents, of whom two were black; four elected representatives, of whom three are black; two independents, of whom both are black; a white representative of the SA Players’ Association, a white CEO and a white chief financial officer – making a total of seven blacks out of 12 members.
In the general council, each of the 14 unions has two representatives – their president and one other – and at last count roughly half the union presidents were black.
Of Meyer’s 19-strong management team, six are black, and six are “English-speaking”, including John McFarland, the Boks’ defence coach, who is Northern Irish by birth, and Richie Gray, a Scotsman, who is in charge of the breakdown.
Among current players, of the 30-strong Bok squad, six are black and two are “white English speaking” – as far as the Cape Argus could ascertain.
At present, Saru does not have any racial targets for the senior provincial or national sides.A plea for faster transformation was made by Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu recently, and Ehrenreich yesterday agreed.
“Cosatu had been approached by a number of rugby players, both black and white, who are concerned about how a conservative old boere clique controls SA Rugby,” he alleged.
“We need faster transformation – it’s not happening. That’s the starting point.
“Maybe whites feel threatened, they think they’re being targeted. But English-speaking whites are also excluded from the teams.
“The Boere mafia’s control must come to an end.”
Ehrenreich also had a go at 100-Test Springbok hero Bryan Habana.
“It’s a pity he says he would have been in the team anyway (without any quotas). Cosatu will remind Habana that without political pressure, he would not have made the team and would not have been able to display his amazing talent.”
Habana had been picked, he alleged, because “the white establishment need black faces to give legitimacy to their manipulation of the team”.
“What we want is equal opportunity into the teams. So many players in the back-line of the Western Province who should be able to walk into any Springbok team ahead of any white players in the Springbok team.”
Furthermore, “the coach has brought back a lot of old retired players and has an outdated game plan that has not been able to keep track with All Blacks rugby”.
“Juan Smith, by his own admission, is not fit. Cosatu also calls on the sponsors, such as SA Breweries and Absa, to take a stand on the matters of transformation, failing which we will call on the government to review the tax breaks they receive for their sponsorship as well as plan protest action against them.
“DStv is also complicit in promoting the old boys’ club in South African rugby and continues to put up commentators who talk up the old status quo.
Asked to explain, Ehrenreich said he supported “regional demographics”.
“People settled in different parts of the country for different reasons – the Western Cape, for example, was a ‘coloured preference labour area’ (under apartheid).
“You can’t just want to apply a demographic standing that doesn’t take into account regional population realities.”
Several top rugby minds canvassed did not wish to join the debate yesterday, but one said of Arendse’s criticism of the selection of big players: “It’s a complex debate. But on size alone, I don’t see a lot of pygmies playing this game, but I do see a lot of Polynesians.
“This is a big man’s game. There are exceptions – Shane Williams is a brilliant story – and we love the exception, we celebrate the exception. But by and large, the players are getting bigger – not smaller.”
The Young Communist League of South Africa said last night it was “elated” at Saru’s plans. - Cape Argus