Nov 7th, 2007 | Test Rugby, RWC 2007 | 11 Comments | print
South African rugby: a nation in union? Not any time soon.
Since the end of the apartheid era in South Africa, racial quotas (whereby a specified number of each team must be non-white) were instituted in South African sports in an attempt to increase participation by non-white players. As in America, this type of affirmative action has been controversial primarily since it has led to team selections not being based on merit.
Unlike the non-elite teams, the South African national rugby team has been immune from racial quotas, but the lead-up to the 2007 Rugby World Cup intensified calls for quotas to reach all levels of sport, including the elite/national level. Parliamentary Sports Committee chairman Butana Khompela even suggested that passports might be confiscated if the Springbok world cup squad was not representative of the country’s demographic which is 8% white.
In the aftermath of South Africa’s Rugby World Cup victory, it seems that the focus has started to shift away from quotas to support player development. In October when presented with the Webb Ellis Cup in Pretoria, President Thabo Mbeki indicated that development should be built from below.
In Cape Town today, Sports Minister Makhenkesi Stofile officially endorsed this notion:
Quotas are out. We are not going to decide who must be on the team. All we are saying is expose everybody, give them an opportunity. […] Let us put our resources into the development of talent.
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Oct 11th, 2007 | Test Rugby, RWC 2007 | 14 Comments | print
Only four matches remain in the 2007 Rugby World Cup and following last weeks results there is currently no clear favorite for even the semi finals, let alone who will be crowned champion. The early exit of Australia and New Zealand has effectively debunked all pundits and experts, leaving predictions for the finals anyone’s best guess.
Rather than speculate wildly as to the results of this weekends games, let me make a case for the best possible result for Saturday’s semi finals: France over England and Argentina over South Africa. This sets up a repeat of the epic championship opener of France v Argentina. Even if beleaguered England managed a place in the final, the ‘down-and-out team does good’ story will not have the drama of the first and final matches of the tournament featuring the same 2 teams. → continue reading
Jun 26th, 2007 | RWC 2007 | 2 Comments | print
We all know that New Zealand All Blacks have been the highest rated team in the oval planet since Wilco kicked England into the history books at the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final (well, since July 2004 to be exact).
Add to that their worldwide recognition of the Haka ritual (the subject of my next blog) to ruggers and non-ruggers alike and the All Blacks are favored by many to finally hoist the Webb Ellis Cup which has eluded them since the inception of the Rugby World Cup in 1987.
Contrary to popular belief, I think All Blacks PR machine may have gotten a little ahead of itself. These last few weeks have been very revealing for the All Blacks, despite back-to-back wins over Canada and South Africa. Let’s analyze each of these.
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