RUGBY UNION-WORLD/SOUTH AFRICA DEPART Springboks leave for England and Rugby World Cup

Record ID: 140019

  • Title: RUGBY UNION-WORLD/SOUTH AFRICA DEPART Springboks leave for England and Rugby World Cup
  • Date: 11th September 2015
  • Summary: JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA (SEPTEMBER 11, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SOUTH AFRICAN RUGBY UNION TEAM SINGING SONG AS THEY POSE FOR TEAM PHOTOGRAPHS
  • Embargoed: 26th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: South Africa
  • Country: South Africa
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVACEUDJH0OJ0TA5TVLLQIPG1F4D
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: As the South African team departed Johannesburg for the Rugby World Cup in England on Friday (September 11), captain Jean de Villiers called for support from fans following race row that embroiled the squad selection.
    Critics of the South Africa Rugby Union have pointed to the minority of nine non-white players on coach Heyneke Meyer's 31-man World Cup squad as evidence SARU has dragged its heels on racial transformation in the sport.
    South Africa has made strides since Chester Williams broke the race ceiling as the only non-white player in the 1995 World Cup-winning team.
    But SARU's goal of having non-white players make up half the national squad by 2019 seems remote.
    As the team looked to depart Johannesburg, de Villiers said that although the squad selection had been controversial, all the players were going to give their all to to try and claim South Africa's third world cup.
    "To be a Springbok and to play for the Springboks is not always easy, ladies and gentleman. But what I can assure you is the guys sitting behind me - there is 30 fine gentlemen here that will never give up. They will never give up when they don the Springbok journey, and they will make you proud. We might let you down at times, it might not be the squad you wanted it to be, but all I can ask you is now to get behind the team. We will, never, give up because we know what we stand for," said the 34-year-old.
    Rugby has a fraught history as a symbol of South Africa's racial divisions under apartheid. For generations, the black majority mainly gravitated more towards soccer, while rugby came to occupy a special place in the psyche of white South Africans, particularly the descendants of Dutch settlers known as Afrikaners.
    The national squad, called the "Bokke" in the Afrikaans language, became an international power with a playing style that emphasises raw physicality, brute strength and strict discipline. Under apartheid, black South Africans often rooted for the Springboks' defeat in international tournaments.
    However, South African sports minister Fikile Mbalula called on all of South Africa to support the team at the world cup.
    "We are proud of this nation, and that is why I am saying to South Africa: black and white, purple and gold - Stand behind the Springboks," said Mbalula.
    "We are one country. We are one country. We are one nation. And we are proud of the Springboks. We are looking forward for when you come back from England with the trophy."
    These sentiments were echoed by winger Bryan Habana, who said he and his team-mates were just concentrating on their performances on the pitch.
    "I think as a team, the 31 selected, they know they have a job to do at hand," said Habana.
    "We all believe that this team involved is going to be the best and is going to do South Africa unbelievably proud. The transformation issues is something that we don't have to be involved in. We have to go out there and do our country proud. That's the most important task at hand for us."
    South Africa start their campaign with a match against Pool B rivals Japan in Brighton on Saturday (September 19).
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: Audio restrictions: This clip's Audio includes copyrighted material. User is responsible for obtaining additional clearances before publishing the audio contained in this clip.
Register