In my forthcoming text on South African rugby (among other things) there's much space dedicated to the quota system, so much in fact that I've named a chapter "of deeds past and quotas future", bringing in old Steinbeck as an allusion to his work Of Mice and Men. As a historian, my job is to reconstruct and interpret the past and in my interviews with rugby folk in SA, no one thought that black representation was that much of an issue. Everyone agreed that there was plenty of talent, especially at school's and U20's provincial level and that the lack of Springboks of colour was due to other aspects such as physical prowess etc. Now, the SARU has decided that quotas are needed in the Vodacom Cup. Whether they are right in this assessment or that it should appease an opinion (real or imagined) it is quite sad that its implemented. Of the people me and my research associate has spoken to, racial integration has taken huge leaps since 1994 and the lack of representation is due to malnutrition in early years (not that players that 'the beast' or Chiliboy Ralapelle look malnutrioned to me).
What struck me in the text and the subsequent comments made by Mr. de Villiers is the fear making the quota players "tokens". The same fear was articulated in the Sydney Morning Press in 1981 when Errol Tobias was selected as the first Springbok of colour and what a fine player Tobias was. I think that he would have been offended if anyone had suggested that he was there as token. And seriously, you don't want to offend South African rugby players...
I don't have an answer to the racial issues in SA rugby, but I do know that it doesn't begin with quoting Vodacom Cup. That's for sure...
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