Stormers captain Luke Watson has been ”treated unfairly” for too long because of the anti-apartheid stance of his father, Cheeky, and his controversial inclusion in the Springbok squad is justified, says South African Rugby Union (Saru) deputy president Mike Stofile.
The Saru presidency decided to add Watson to the training group after he was left out of the initial squad, the Star reported on Tuesday.
”Luke especially has been treated unfairly. But there is no way that he can suffer because of what Cheeky has done in the past. We will not allow it to happen,” the newspaper quoted Stofile as saying.
”In fact, we should applaud the contribution that Cheeky Watson has made to this country. He was one of us, fighting for the liberation of the country. We cannot have a situation where those people’s children get victimised because of their parents’ actions.”
Springbok coach Jake White has maintained that Watson was excluded purely on rugby terms. Watson accused White last year in the media of stripping away the Boks’ pride.
According to the Star, Stofile and the other members of the presidency met White, selection convener Peter Jooste and selector Ian McIntosh last Tuesday to discuss the line-up. White and Jooste were then told after a ”lengthy debate” that Watson — as well as Sharks wing Odwa Ndungane — should be included, and the inclusion of Bobby Skinstad and Ashwin Willemse was questioned.
Jooste said on Sunday he was dismayed at the political interference that placed Watson in the Springbok squad.
”The presidency felt that Luke needed to be included, and without our knowledge, they added him to the group,” he said. ”I’m not happy about the situation, because they’ve undermined us. We’ve been working towards the World Cup for three years now and have always worked around a key group of players.”
Jooste said coach Jake White was also unhappy with the move.
Stofile told the Star he was pleased that the issue around Watson’s selection and transformation had come into the open, saying Saru has ”an open agenda” and ”we want to provide equal opportunities to all races and colours”.
Neither White nor Saru president Oregan Hoskins were available for comment when contacted.