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It’s a subject that won’t die. It is a topic that will linger long after it has worn out the debates – but it’ll never fully die.
The ugly head of the quota system has risen yet again, but this time it’s the SARU president that has brought the subject matter to the forefront. Oregan Hoskins has stated that he has personally asked the Springbok coach to incorporate more “African black” players in the squad.
It seems as though the sports minister, Fikile Mbalula has gone behind closed doors to put pressure on SARU to include more black players.
This is the same man who called the national soccer team, Bafana Bafana, a “bunch of losers.” He has also weighed in on other country’s matters by commenting on Kenyan athletes’ ability to swim.
He is regarded as an ignorant and arrogant leader in government so his comments are usually taken with a handful of salt.
Regardless of what I personally think of him, and the majority of African media, he is still the one in charge. He is pushing a hateful agenda on the success of the Springboks.
He has continuously called for the Springbok team to add black players under a quota system.
The South African Rugby Team does have a history of white dominance.
Twenty years ago, it was the symbol of the white dominant government and people. This stigma has long changed with more and more players of colour making the squad. Some players that are ‘not black enough’ have been ignored in this quota criteria. Mbalula wants a specific type of black player in the ranks and will push hard until this agenda is met.
The problem that almost all pundits and commentators agree with is that the solution is not to force a top-down philosophy, but to build from the ground up. The divide happens early in the sporting development of a person. The majority of black school kids gravitate to football and the majority of white players go towards rugby or cricket.
Why is this divide happening so early?
I cannot answer this and would look to school development and general integration. My high school photo from 1997 had 24 European/white students and 13 students of non-white ethnic backgrounds. Granted my school was an all-boys private school under a Catholic ideology in Durban, South Africa, so this may have reflected the demographic of the time, but we weren’t divided.
We all played sport together, went to social gatherings together and there was no racial tension or divide. Of course, there were different groups of friends within the school, but this is a normal social development in any environment.
Was there a good development structure in my school to encourage involvement in sport? I guess that there was for a school that wasn’t the best sporing school in the district. We had all that we could really ask for from a school sporting structure, training equipment, fields and coaches.
What if we looked into the greater community? Rugby was generally reserved for ‘elite’ schools. Not necessarily private, but well respected schools. Once players have graduated schools and follow through with their rugby, they likely land up in the cradle of South African rugby – the university system. Some of the best players in the country attend the handful of rugby universities and this is where the solution may lie.
One of the biggest universities is the Stellenbosch University in the Western Cape. This university has been the site for law trials and holds a number of championships, but there is one glaring figure that may lend argument to the quota system. Out of the 26,000 or so students enrolled, the vast majority is white with a percentage of 68.5 per cent.
The black ratio is a low 14.4 per cent.
There is an opposite statistic from the University of Pretoria, another powerhouse in the Varsity Cup, with a total of 61,000-odd students. The black students account for 56.1 per cent with the white students making up 39.2 per cent. The differences are not as extreme as Stellenbosch but there is a larger majority of black students in the Pretoria tertiary education system.
Even with both these figures, it doesn’t truly reflect the actual population of the nation, which is 85 per cent black. Do the universities hold the key for proper development and a better quota system implementation?
If the university structure encouraged the involvement of black students in rugby and had extensive recruitment drives, they may swing the numbers in the professional leagues as students work their way through the academies and systems. How this is to be done is up for debate as each university may have a different way of doing things.
The Varsity Cup is a huge competition within South Africa and gets TV coverage and a lot more support than club matches. It’s a gateway for successful players to make their way into the national team, after hard work and dedication.
But there is a stage before this, that could also hold the key. Craven Week is the time when schools and players shine and a huge scouting opportunity for professional clubs to focus on an up and coming player. This is where the schools can develop dynamic growth in the race quota criteria. Not all schools that compete are of the ‘elite’ level, but they are good at playing sport.
They can offer black students a scholarship or some form of financial support if they meet certain sporting criteria. This may be seen as discrimination, but it’s what the government supports and isn’t meant to be a fair process.
The quota system is not a fair process, so to implement it lower in the ranks is a better solution that forcing a national team to comply.
One thing is for sure, it’s a very bad idea to force a national team to abide by this discriminatory process. This type of philosophy should have died out 20 years ago, but the ignorant and arrogant leaders persist in pushing their agendas under the guise of equality and fairness.
Things can change but there needs to be better educated and better prepared leadership to put the wheels in motion.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.