The South African Rugby Union (Saru) has greeted with shock statements attributed to Luke Watson regarding South African rugby, his Springbok teammates and the national jersey.
Saru has called an urgent meeting on Monday to determine the accuracy of the reports with Western Province, the player’s contracting union, and the University of Cape Town Rugby Club (UCT), where the statements were said to have been made.
Watson allegedly said that ”the problem with South African rugby is that it is controlled by Dutchmen”, and that he felt like vomiting on the Springbok emblem.
If the reports were accurate, this would be a very serious matter indeed, said Andy Marinos, SA Rugby’s manager of national teams and acting MD.
”But we can’t pre-judge the matter on the strength of media reports and we can make no definitive statement until we have in our hands what evidence there may be,” he said.
Marinos said a further statement would be issued following the meeting with Western Province and the UCT Rugby Club.
Meanwhile, the civil rights initiative AfriForum said its legal team will send a letter to Watson demanding that he withdraw his ”Dutchmen” statement and to apologise for it unconditionally.
”If Watson were to refuse to withdraw his statements, AfriForum intends to have him summoned to the Equality Court on charges of hate speech,” the organisation said.
Watson reportedly made his hurtful statements when he appeared as a guest speaker at the Umbumbo Rugby Festival at UCT on October 3 this year.
A similar lawyer’s letter was sent by AfriForum this past Friday to the chairperson of the parliamentary portfolio committee on sport, Butana Komphela, demanding that he withdraw and apologise for his recent statement that whites were ”arrogant” regarding the Springbok emblem.
According to Kallie Kriel, CEO of AfriForum, it is in no one in the country’s interest for Watson and Komphela to be allowed to continue making such polarising statements.
”It is high time for them to be called to account in this regard and therefore AfriForum’s legal team will do everything in their power to ensure that Watson and Komphela have to try and defend their statements in court,” Kriel said.