VIDEO: 'Rassie has done a wonderful transformation job'
WATCH as South African Rugby Union President Mark Alexander talks about transformation – from grassroots to the national team.
Alexander, speaking at the launch of a digital history of black rugby in South Africa, gave his unequivocal support for the progress Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has made with the national team.
Even though Erasmus failed to reach his 45 percent target (for black representation) in some matches, Alexander praised the Bok coach for his efforts – saying he “made great strides”.
“There is still a lot more we can do,” Alexander said.
“Rassie has done a wonderful job as far as transformation is concerned.
“I think he has put the most [black] players ever in the Springbok team and we have a black Springbok captain.”
The SARU boss said the number of non-white players in the national team should not be artificially escalated.
“This is not something that must come as a result of transformation,” he said, adding: “It must come naturally, because the players are good enough.”
He added that all the black players in the Bok team are not there because they are ‘quotas’, but they deserve to be there.
“They are quality players.
“Name one player in that [Bok] team that played this year, who is there because he is a quota.
“They are not quotas, they deserve to be there.”
The discussion surrounding transformation came about at the launch of what SARU hopes will grow into the definitive A to Z of Black Rugby – at the Springbok Experience Rugby Museum at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town.
The touchscreen installation is the first stage of an ambitious project to collate the often ‘hidden’ history of black rugby in South Africa until the sport’s unification in 1992.
The objective of the work is to capture the A to Z of black rugby prior to unity.
The biographies of all 409 players to have appeared for the pre-unity African, coloured and non-racial rugby boards will be featured in due course, as well as the stories of clubs, trophies, administrators, federations and other personalities or events that may have shaped the development of black rugby.
Alexander said at the launch that the work was a first step to filling a vacuum in the story of black rugby.
“The story of black rugby has increasingly been brought out of the shadows by the work we have done at The Springbok Experience and in the heritage field over recent years, but there is still not a single point of reference where anyone can go and discover the hidden story,” Alexander said.
By Jan de Koning
@king365ed
@rugby365com
