Heyneke Meyer selected his Bok squad last Friday for the 2015 Rugby World Cup amid a growing public debate about the lack of transformation in the sport and the national team.
Chances are you were either ecstatic about Meyer’s selection, or you may have felt aggrieved that one of your favourite players missed out.
If so, here is your chance to have your say.
Tomorrow is the first in a series of three public dialogues, called “Our Boks 2015”, will start and tackle the topic head on.
Western Cape High Court Judge Siraj Desai will moderate the first dialogue in the series with the theme: “Taking stock of transformation in sport, and rugby in particular, since unification”, with a select audience at Trafalgar High School at 5pm.
Panellists include former Springbok hooker Dale Santon; former Bok coach Peter de Villiers; Max Fudzani, a special adviser to the Minister of Sport Fikile Mbalula; Trafalgar High School principal Nadeem Hendricks; sports activist Cheryl Roberts; former No 1 beach volleyball player Anne Siroky; and author Liz McGregor, who wrote the book Touch, Pause, Engage!.
Members of the audience will comprise township rugby luminaries, activists in the field of rugby development, the schools rugby sector and others from the rugby fraternity.
The second instalment will see the dialogue travel to Heidelberg – the home of World Cup Springbok squad member, scrumhalf Rudy Paige – on September 9.
The theme in Heidelberg will be: “Merit selection: yes or no?”
The final in the series of dialogues, co-ordinated by Labyrinth Consulting, will culminate in the people selecting their starting Bok XV on September 16, for the first World Cup match against Japan on September 19.
If you can’t be in the audience for the dialogues, don’t worry.
The Cape Argus will be covering the dialogues live on Twitter and will offer in-depth coverage in the newspaper.
You can join the conversation from tomorrow on Facebook (Cape Argus), and on Twitter by following our handle @TheCapeArgus and the hashtag #OurBoks2015.
We’re also offering five readers the chance to be part of the audience at tomorrow’s dialogue at Trafalgar High School.
All you have to do is to post on Facebook or Twitter why you want to be there.
Include the hashtag #OurBoks2015 and a contact number.
The five selected audience members will be notified later today. - Cape Argus