South Africa’s rugby squad should forget about politics in sport and concentrate on their World Cup title tilt, President Thabo Mbeki said on Saturday.
”While you are away forget all of these controversies that we always raise as politicians, don’t worry about those ones, just play the rugby,” Mbeki was quoted as saying by the South African Press Agency during an official send-off for the Springbok team in Pretoria.
More than a decade after the end of apartheid, South African rugby continues to stir up from controversy over the racial make-up of the team.
The composition of the current team was criticised by Regan Hoskins, the president of the South African Rugby Union (Saru), for the inclusion of only six black players.
Mbeki, who played rugby at school and received a Springbok jersey from South African captain John Smit, said he had some advice for the team.
”If they [the French] want to invite you out, and want to give you wine and feed you frog legs, say no thank you, let’s stick to pap and vleis, so that we make sure they don’t do funny things,” Mbeki said.
The World Cup begins on September 7 and South Africa face Samoa in their first Pool A match on September 9. – Reuters