WATCH: Is burning a jersey a step too far?

Probably Chinese jersey xD

What! All the South African Rugby supporters want, is for the very best possible players to fill the respective positions in the Springbok Rugby team. And it is strange that Australia, NZ, U K, France etc, want exactly the same thing for their national teams. How many complaints have been heard about Habana, Peterson, or The Beast? Also, as with other Rugby nations, South African Rugby supporters want the very best coach to coach the Springboks. Now, if this is not done, one must appreciate what the physiological effect this has on the team and on the aspirations all the thousands of young Springbok wannabees. All that South African Rugby supporters want is a Springbok Rugby team. Is their any reason why they should be satisfied with any thing else?

superba Are the proteas really transformed? They have chosen 80% of the team from 20% of the population, do those numbers make sense to you? Transformation just means not white in South Africa, it's a complete farce and completely racist. Just like the much vaunted black middle class, what they don't tell you is that the black middle class is mostly made up of government workers. So what you have now is a mostly productive private sector of whites paying to maintain a mostly unproductive public sector of blacks which is increasing in size and demanding wages that far exceed inflation which is leading to the junk status crisis we are facing because South Africa is going broke. This is the failure of the current government because they have not created a foundation for people to succeed and when the mass get fed up they try to push the results with BEE and quotas and then lay blame on everything else but their failure to govern effectively. I know I am going off topic but I am just trying to point out the ANC mentality in all facets whether it is rugby or the economy, no opportunity means there can't be organic results which lands up forcing them to create artificial results which are sub-par eg Allistair Coetzee & eskom. Rugby and cricket players tend to come from middle class schools. Kagiso Rabada and Themba Bavuma the two black "previously disadvantaged" players went to St Stithians and St Davids which are extremely expensive schools. The EFF pointed this out and they are 100% right, what you are seeing represented in our national teams is the divisions of class. It is very simple, if you want transformation you are going to have to push the poor into the middle class (rugby and cricket are elitist sports) and only the government can do that by creating a vibrant and thriving economy. Having said that I don't believe transformation is the main reason for the boks decline, we have huge systematic problems. Our super rugby results have been dismal, we have won less trophies than both NZ and AUS, so how do we expect to have a strong national team when our franchises are a joke? Heyneke Meyer received a springbok team where 38 out of 41 players failed the fitness test after the super rugby season just before the world cup, he had to drill the players with fitness and hence our players were flat and received our first loss to Argentina. Even now, the players look like they had dismal fitness levels against Italy.

RFU wouldn't allow it so they went after Sarries. This isn't a heavy SA influence in Sarries these days

Going to be the same as Rugby.

Agreed. http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/Springboks/matfield-back-rookies-for-wales-test-20161122 I found this these comments by Victor Matfield especially true... The former Bulls favourite also refuses to use transformation requirements as some sort of excuse for the Bok discomfort in 2016. “I was engaging with Whatsapp groups and so on and actually almost fighting with friends of mine: I think we hide far too easily behind transformation in our country. Yes, it makes things challenging at certain levels, but again, who is ultimately in control of the process? “Transformation is part of our country; we have to do it. What work is being done, who is actually responsible for it? Who is ensuring there are plenty of candidates to be able to pick at the top level? “It can’t be the job of the Springbok coach. We creep behind transformation as a (cause) of our problems … there are many other issues that have to be addressed before we (put too much focus on) transformation.”

Whatever happened to the London Springboks ? Time for a merit selected Bok team to be based in London and chosen on merit away from the clutches of the ANC .Call them the Proteas .And let them compete .

@bruma bull ....lemons and now minties.

Stem saam Duane . But here is a question for you . How is it , in this environment, that the Proteas are doing so well ? Despite so many like KP et al going overseas. Is it because they are the Proteas and not called the Springboks as they once were years ago or because they have never been the symbol of the Afrikaner people as has the rugby team . And they were a white team as well . What is their quota ?

And not doing to good a job at that Boz judging by the poor life expectancy of the aboriginals .

And not doing to good a job at that Boz judging by the poor life expectancy of the aboriginals .

I am not endorsing burning jerseys, I am simply trying to put it into perspective... People are trying to vent their frustrations... If you read any SA rugby site's comments sections, you will note people are calling for complete boycotts of Springbok games and mass protests... Imagine your national team's management taken over by a corrupt mafia that destroys the pride, respect and professionalism of something you have loved and supported since the day you were born. This is not only about rugby. Google crime stats in South Africa, 50 people killed per day, then come back and tell me to "Harden up..." You have no idea whats going on in South Africa and what people are dealing with on a daily basis... Ever had a gun pointed at your face?

Not when they put 11 on the field it's not. Apart from Amla and Rabada there are key players that are Afrikaners (including Dale Steyn as fast bowlers do fade) and it will be very tough to drop any of them.

Feel free to write an article on it Harry if you're willing to share the meeting with us. It's up to you if you want to compete it private.

This is not the time and place to be johnson waving over who had the worst racial policies. There are political forums for that.

I wonder if your indigenous people feel fairly compensated. Oh, and while we're at it, how long does it take "to get over" discriminatory treatment? 50 years perhaps?

Boz the Younger Let me try give you some background knowledge because I feel like your opinions are coming from a place of ignorance. Firstly read this, this was a letter from former president of SARU Oregon Hoskins who happens to be a man of color. He wrote this when political parties were rallying up their support base against the springboks before the 2015 world cup. "Cape Town - Thirty-one proud South Africans, their coach and management team will climb aboard a flight to London on Friday to set off on a great adventure with one goal in mind: to bring back the Rugby World Cup for their fellow South Africans. They are the pride of our nation – and those are the words of the Minister for Sport and Recreation, Mr Fikile Mbalula, who spoke so passionately and brilliantly in support of the team at their farewell banquet on Tuesday evening. Those players will move heaven and earth to make our country proud; they will throw their bodies into those places where the contest is at its fiercest and their chests will be bursting with pride at the honour of representing every single one of their fellow countrymen. Not one of those players selected himself and yet there are those who wish them ill, and even to fail, as some form of protest against rugby and what they perceive to be our transformation record. Many opinions have been aired over recent weeks and I have listened to them with growing frustration. I have been frustrated because the good story we have been telling has been falling on deaf ears; and we do have a good news story to tell. Let us get one thing absolutely clear: Our sport is massively transformed from where it was in 1992. The idea of an “exclusive”, “white-dominated” game is frankly laughable. What we are is a successful, high performance sport in a competitive global environment; we are a responsible South African corporate citizen and we are a business. We fully realise that to stay relevant and vibrant in our country we need to evolve. So, no one needs to lecture us about the importance of transformation – we got there long ago. For instance, where were the critics almost three years ago when we became the first sport in SA to hold a national transformation indaba (in November 2012)? We invited the MECs for sport of all nine provinces as well as the sports minister and SASCOC leadership to the occasion as we began to map the way forward. We even set out our intentions in a Transformation Declaration. We audited our game and we workshopped and wrangled and we fine-tuned our planning for two years and our General Council of 14 provinces ratified the plan in December 2014. Two months later we presented it publicly; published it on our website; printed a 60-page handbook for all our provinces and in May we signed an MOU with SASCOC and the Department of Sports & Recreation to deliver on that plan. We did that not because anyone was burning jerseys or taking us to court but because we could clearly see the way forward and knew exactly what needed doing. And it wasn’t just about numbers in the Springbok squad. Our Strategic Transformation Plan has six dimensions (demographics, access, social responsibility, performance, corporate governance and capacity building); it has 71 measurable key performance indicators; it has targets for every aspect for every year to 2019 – we have nailed our colours to the mast. So in the week that we were first lambasted for being an elite, white sport we opened our 32nd mobile gym for black schools and clubs in Pacaltsdorp; we inaugurated our fifth ‘Boks for Books’ library in an under-privileged school in Stellenbosch and we were named sports federation of the year in awards for women’s sport. Did that rate a mention? Was any of that weighed in the scales of criticism of ‘evil’ SARU? All anyone was interested in was the fact that there were eight black players in a squad of 31 when 84% of the under-18 population is black African. It makes no sense does it? Well here’s some more statistics for you. In our most populace province of KZN, 97% of schoolboys NEVER play rugby. And the proportion is the same in Limpopo, North West and Mpumalanga – four of our biggest provinces where only 3% of boys have access to rugby at school. It’s hardly any better in Gauteng, Free State, the Northern Cape and even the Eastern Cape where around 85% of boys NEVER have access to rugby at school. And if you don’t start at school you will never become a Springbok. Only in the Western Cape – where 46% of schools play rugby - can the game really be called a ‘national sport’. Only about 10% of schoolboys ever see a rugby ball at primary school and by the time we get to high school that rugby playing population has dwindled to a fraction at the 1st XV level. It is from that tiny subset of potential players that Springboks emerge. But we are not down hearted because rugby is very good at identifying talent and we now we can achieve our targets. Our game thirsts for outstanding players and whether one emerges in a township school or from a traditional rugby school you can be sure the system will find him and nurture him. And we now have a thoroughly worked out five-year plan on which we can be judged and with which we are aligned with our government. The transformation train has left the station and it is the critics that have been left on the platform. Rugby is definitely on track. Let us turn now to that aeroplane and those young men and their management who will do duty against Japan in Brighton on 19 September with the sole intention of bringing joy to this country. I would urge all supporters to demonstrate their true feelings towards the team, in the way that the team shows its loyalty to our country - by wearing their Springbok jerseys to the shop, the office, the factory, the mine or on the farm on Friday. The team leaves that evening carrying our hopes with them; join me in showing them that they have our unqualified support. Mr Oregan Hoskins President South African Rugby Union What foreigners don't seem to understand is that when you say "embrace transformation", you are saying make it happen even though the numbers show that it can't be done. To raise a rugby athlete costs a lot of money, from sending your child to the correct rugby playing school, to the correct nutrition, to transporting for your child. Most of world class players of color went to one of these model c rugby playing schools, eg Habana and Kolisi. South Africa has 27% unemployment rate, the lack of transformation in the springboks is because most of our population is poor and they will remain poor under the ANC who is corrupt and has destroyed the south african economy. Do you not think every single springbok supporter would prefer to pick players from a massive talent pool instead of a small drop of our population? Everyone wants transformation to happen but its not possible the way the country is being run! And I am by no means saying transformation is the only reason the springboks are being destroyed because there are alot of other systematic problems especially when it comes to our provincial rugby unions but it is blatantly obvious the ANC is using the springboks as a political tool and the justification is that they deserve it because two wrongs make a right all of a sudden. Secondly I am in no way or form justifying apartheid but but just pointing out how hypocritical it is for people from white colonial countries to say comments like " You reap what you sow" simply because it is well known that the native people in Australia (2,6% of pop) and New Zealand (14,6% of pop) are still to this day far more disadvantaged compared to their white counterparts and that if the native people were not reduced to minorities in their own countries, you would be facing very similar problems. Apartheid was evil and cruel but so was colonialism and yet the rest of the world doesn't have this 'you deserve it attitude'.

Pickett, not to speak for BB, but that would be totally fine. The best of the best should represent a nation. But currently, the best is still not fitting ANC agenda. And when we tinker with things based mostly on racial grounds, the whole thing gets worse.

Do you really want us to compare policies? Because I'd love to, really. Just make sure you're aware of the real facts, not just generalisations. Let's start with comparing the imprisonment rate.

pickett I am busy writing a long winded essay around SA rugby, will provide you my thoughts on the issues regarding SA rugby