SA Rugby transformation Agenda
The South African Rugby Union (SARU) has confirmed its plans to ensure that half the Springbok team is made up of players of colour by 2019.
Rapport on Sunday revealed SARU’s Transformation Strategic Plan, which aims to bring all of South Africa’s representative rugby teams, along with domestic teams in line with national targets in five years.
Of the Springbok team currently competing in the Rugby Championship, 19% of the players are non-white, while only 12% are black African. Zimbabwean-born prop Tendai Mtawarira was the only black African player to start in the defeat to Australia in Perth, with Trevor Nyakane warming the bench.
But SARU wants to make sure that by 2019 at least half the Springbok side consists of players of colour, with 60% of those required to be black African.
SARU also set a mandate for Bok coach Heyneke Meyer to select at least five black players in his squad for the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England as well as include seven players of colour in his match-day squad in the lead-up to the tournament.
According to Beeld, all 14 of South Africa’s provincial unions approved the new strategic plan on August 13 this year.
SARU has already shared the plan with SASCOC and the sports ministry. The next step is for SARU’s general council to approve the plan.
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At least half the Springbok side must consist of players of colour in five years’ time, with 60% of those required to be black African.
SARU’s Strategic Transformation Plan will address transformation in rugby in a bid to meet racial targets by 2019.
Sport24 – Rapport
In addition, Heyneke Meyer will be expected to field a side containing at least five black players at the World Cup in England next year.
The plan, which was revealed in Sunday newspaper Rapport, will see a comprehensive overhaul of the current structures, including demands on the Springboks, Blitzboks and Junior Boks teams, as well as teams in the Vodacom Cup, Currie Cup and Super Rugby tournaments. There will also be quotas in amateur rugby and across all Craven Week tournaments.
The aim is to make sure that all representative teams contain at least 50% players of colour within the next five years.
Of the Springbok team currently competing in the Rugby Championship, only 19% are non-white, while only 12% are black African. Zimbabwean-born prop Tendai Mtawarira was the only black African player to start in the defeat to Australia in Perth, with Trevor Nyakane warming the bench.
The plan was drawn up by the SARU executive council earlier this year after being heavily criticised by the department of sport, and sports minister Fikile Mbalula, over the lack of transformation in the current Bok team.
Meyer will be encouraged to make sure there are at least seven players of colour in the Springbok match-day squad from next year, while Neil Powell’s SA Sevens squad will be expected to adhere to a strict 40% colour quota.
Dawie Theron’s Junior Boks have to select at least 12 players of colour in his squad of 28 for the 2015 Junior World Championship in Portugal, four of whom must be black.
The plan will also address transformation among coaches, referees, team managers, administrative officers and suppliers of services to SARU.
At least 30% of national coaches must be coloured come next year, with at least 10% required to be black.
“It’s a sustainable way to implement transformation in South African rugby,” said Mervin Green, Saru’s general manager for development. “Most of SARU’s provinces have failed to yield results due to lack of proper talent identification and development programmes.
“The transformation plan will be monitored annually to identify barriers that have a negative impact on the implementation.”
@ nortierd:
All teams have their key players though, what would Aus do if they lost Hooper and Folau?
If NZ lost Read and Aaron smith? Cruden is already proving to be a bit of a blow.
Every effort has been made to play scrumhalves, outside centers and loose forwards so far.
as replacements
@ MacroBok:
There won’t be any such research, this is politics, and facts don’t matter to them.
Like putting the Kings on international display in the SuperRugby competition while they cannot even field a team to win Griquas or the Pumas locally. But quota enforcement is their priority because it makes ‘political sense’ to them.
@ MacroBok:
May very well be.
My point is that if coaches were serious about this issue and not stuck on just developing wings, to keep them away from the play as much as possible, SARU would not have to come up with this.
The idea that it will weaken our rugby also is false if you look at the WP team, where there are consistently 6/7 players of colour in the run on team every weak. Other examples are the Cobras cricket team, which are dominating our local cricket and the national cricket side which just won in a final against the Aussies for the very 1st time.
@ Pietman:
@58 MacroBok
@ Pietman:
yes short term political goals, the guys who made these targets will likely not be around by 2019 and pass the back, while the other guys who will be around are simply hopeing Fikile will be gone by then.
To be totally fair,women should make up 50% of your team!!
That would be a result for Transformation and Sex Equality all in one!!
61 @ MacroBok:
Let’s see on Saturday, NZ have lost Cruden and Carter and now Messam and Sam Whitelock as well.
Should be a huge plus in our favor?
Fourie and Jacques technically can’t really count as losses, as they are not involved in all the tests, so we have lost Alberts who would have been a starter in them all.
So, it’s advantage Bokke then?
Pietman wrote:
Neither can the Sharks, but some are still hero worshipping them
@ Nama:
But the Western Cape has the most coloured rugby clubs in the country, thats quite obvious, where are all the other Provinces going to pull those players out? You can’t possibly compare PW to the Free State, Gauteng, Natal in the amount of non-white players available its a ridiculous argument.
Blue Bird wrote:
Already too many Shark players Blue Bird, that quota is filled
Oh yes Macro. Just to be clear. I support this system at CC and SR level. The fact that it is phased in also has my support. As for the Boks: A player should only get selected on merit.
That is one of the reasons why I am against the inclusion of Pollard and Janneman at this stage. They clearly are not in the team on merit.
@ nortierd:
We are very lacking at scrumhalf, unfortunately Meyer does not seem to trust Hougaard.
Won’t make us the favourites on Saturday, but it does present us with an ideal opportunity… We just need to get over this bump.
nortierd wrote:
I have been looking at the Rugby World Cup Schedule for next year in Britain. Do you know any one planning to come over?
70 @ MacroBok:
It’s very seldom that club players anywhere is brought into provincial sides in the professional era.
Most of the new generation young WP players come through the school systems, and lately even through the Northern suburb schools.
All unions contract their next generations at school and not from clubs, the closest to club contracting is players that are spotted in the Varsity Cup and given a break
@ Nama:
Players such as Carr, Kolisi, Bongi, Sithole, Mapoe, Coleman, Tembu, Oupa and that hooker from Kings, and a host of other POC’s will not weaken the current Bok team, to the contrary.
Anyway, the current Bok team are kuk enough as they are….
Blue Bird wrote:
Unfortunately not, I don’t have any friends who are in the millionaire bracket
@ nortierd:
Yes, Varsity Cup was a great idea, we saw some incredible talent coming through from there.
72 @ Nama:
I know, I think you are resonable regarding the TF debate Nama
I understand the reason behind transformation and it was implemented in Vodacom cup this year? Unfortunately we live in a banana republic these days and I am confident Fikile has presidential goals one day.
I think this entire debate on THIS issue can stop at that graph, I simply cant get over it, it is totally void of any research into the issue, it is unbelievable… We are so farked.
@ MacroBok:
Sharks don’t have white players either.
Fern told me about a “black school” that has been unbeaten for the last 3 years or so. To properly test their quality, their coach (a white oke) dearly wants to play them against the top “white schools” but for some reason they don’t want to. So, it is not that they’re not there. They don’t get the opportunities to develop.
@ nortierd:
Clubs, schools, potato, potaaato… you know what i meant.
Most if not a mass majority of non white players reside in the Western and Eastern Cape.
@ nortierd:
Hey, shame!
Start saving…… 🙂
80 @ Nama:
Remember, this is a province where the top schools don’t even want to play against any school that has the wood over them.
Nite all, this was an interesting discussion in the aftermath…let’s see what tomorrow brings to us rugby lovers from the powers that be…
@ Pietman:
Exactly my point Pietman. People look at 7/23 and all of a sudden Bokrugby will be in its moer.
It will not.
@ Nama:
Yep he talks about Glencoe in Northen Natal.
The Natals schools system is a complete joke, I know this full and well as I grew up close to Glencoe… only schools with school fees of 30k+ get a look in for craven week, thats why a player like Marcel Coetzee had no chance.
81 @ MacroBok:
Maybe it’s called contracting properly?
Remember when the Bulls bought almost every young talent a year or two ago and lost their senior players in the process by offering them half their salaries?
How is Arno working out for them by the way? And he didn’t come cheap.
So, out of all those youngsters bought, how many were POC, or will they wait till Senatla is a star and make him an offer he can’t refuse?
In Garsfontein alone there were 5 POC brought up from Cape Town and guess how many got an offer from the Bulls?
0/5 and they were in Pretoria. Lions, Sharks and FS did contract some of them though…..
@ MacroBok:
If you have a 50/50 representation at schools (which I don’t agree with…all school kids are development players imo), what happens to the black rugby kids in those provinces after they leave school? Remember that a lot of your “rugby schools” lure these kids to them precisely because of their rugby ability.
Blue Bird wrote:
I might have saved enough when the WC is next in England, but then it will be R60 to the Pound.
It’s really an expensive endeavor to go over and watch, and I complained about the price of the ticket last week to watch WP at Loftus
Nama wrote:
Yes, Glencoe High.
What Fern omitted to add was that this school had been fielding players who should be playing in N.KZN senior league because of their advanced age and that there was a an investigation by the sports body into this whole drama, don’t know what happened afterwards…Snoek should know, will ask him next time he is on site.
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