The South Africa Rugby Players’ Association (Sarpa) will request an inquiry into the ”barbaric” military-style manner in which the Springboks were trained for the Rugby World Cup, local media reported on Saturday.
”When I heard the reports I thought the training methods were barbaric and outdated. If we want to be counted as one of the rugby superpowers again we will have to be a lot more scientific,” Sarpa chairperson Rob van der Valk told the Saturday Star newspaper.
Photographs of players standing naked in a freezing lake holding rugby balls in front of their private parts were published by local newspapers on Friday, fuelling calls for the resignation of team management.
The pictures were released after a weekend newspaper reported on a bizarre ”bootcamp” where players were allegedly ordered naked into the lake to pump up rugby balls underwater. Those who tried to get out, including captain Corne Krige, were allegedly pointed back at gunpoint.
The team was also apparently ordered to climb into a foxhole where recordings of England’s national anthem and New Zealand’s haka were played while ice-cold water was poured over their heads.
The Saturday Star reported that Sarpa will ask for a mandate to call an official inquiry into the so-called Kamp Staaldraad (Camp Steel-Wire).
”The time could have been better used promoting skills to get us back into the top three of world rugby, which is SA Rugby’s performance measurement,” Van der Valk said.
The Springboks were ousted out of the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals after a humiliating 29-9 loss. — Sapa-AFP