The selection of nine black players in the 22-man Springbok rugby squad and six in the starting line-up shows South Africa is moving towards ”normal sport in a normal society”, President Thabo Mbeki said on Friday.
Writing in his weekly newsletter on the African National Congress’s website, ANC Today, Mbeki wished the Springbok team success in their clash against the Australian Wallabies at Ellis Park on Saturday in the second match of the Mandela Challenge Plate.
The Springboks were trounced 30-12 by the Aussies in the first match in Sydney two weeks ago.
Mbeki praised the inclusion of an unprecedented number of black players in the Springbok squad.
National rugby coach Jake White insisted he has selected a team he is convinced can and will win the match against the Wallabies.
The black players selected for the squad have been chosen on merit, are excellent rugby athletes, and ”good enough to play for South Africa”.
This view was echoed by ANC national spokesperson, member of the national executive committee and former rugby player Smuts Ngonyama.
He said: ”I know Jake White and he won’t pick a team that he doesn’t think can win. Winning is always first and foremost on his mind. It is wonderful, and I think we have a backline and pack of forwards that will beat the Australians. Now [that] we have speed and power, it should be a brilliant match.”
In his letter, Mbeki said White and Ngonyama are sending out a message that the team selected to play the Wallabies represent a talented and potentially successful rugby team and confirm that South Africa is gradually advancing towards the achievement of the goal of ”normal sport in a normal society”.
”When the Springboks take to the field at Ellis Park, they will demonstrate that it is possible to achieve the objective of non-racial sport in our country, the objective of normal sport in South Africa,” he said.
The continuing struggle for normal, non-racial sport communicates the unequivocal message that this struggle has not become any easier, simply because of the victory of the democratic revolution.
”The mere fact that it is only after 11 years of freedom that we are able to field nine black rugby players, out of a squad of 22, tells the story that the normalisation or deracialisation of sport in our country requires that we fight for the realisation of this objective, as persistently as did [South African International Olympic Committee member] Sam Ramsamy for the achievement of the goals to which he dedicated his life.
”We must congratulate the South African Rugby Union for the important step it has taken towards building a Springbok team that reflects the non-racial society we are striving to create.
”The day will come when there will be no need to remark on the racial composition of the Springboks or any of our national teams.
”We wish the Springboks success in their battle with the Wallabies as they strive to retain the Mandela Challenge Plate,” Mbeki said. — Sapa