Springbok coach Peter de Villiers has challenged black clubs which claim he is neglecting black talent to name the players they say are overlooked.
Speaking to the Mail & Guardian at the launch of the First National Bank Varsity Cup, De Villiers reacted to complaints that rugby authorities paid no attention to black areas and therefore denied talented youngsters opportunities to play at the highest level.
With R24-ÂÂÂmillion in sponsorship, the Varsity Cup will see eight of the country’s universities take each other on over the next two months on an away and home basis.
North West University, the University of Johannesburg, the University of Pretoria, the University of Stellenbosch, the University of the Free State, the University of Cape Town, the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University and the Tshwane University of Technology will take part.
”Give me the name of the player, take me to where they live and I’ll definitely have a look at them. If I see that there is indeed talent, that guarantees them a place in my team. I work with a scale of 10 and if a player is rated two out of 10 I can give that player a chance. But one thing that people need to understand is that we cannot have everyone in the national team,” said De Villiers.
Not everyone is convinced, though.
Dali Ndebele, chairperson of the Soweto Rugby Club, insisted De Villiers voluntarily go to the areas where rugby is played to see the ÂÂÂplayers.
”If he comes [to Soweto] we’ll definitely show him the players we are talking about. Our area is neglected but we do things for ourselves. Whenever they decide to come here they will see for themselves, but I doubt they will.”
Though the tournament rules state that there should be five black players in each team and three should be on the field, there are concerns that players will be selected simply to fill race quotas.
De Villiers said that there are some loose ends in the tournament and it would be premature to raise race issues at the moment.
”After two or three games we can start being vocal about the competition being white. Players who take part in the competition should take ownership of their lives and demand their place in my team. Talent alone is not enough to represent your country. I want players with character as well,” said De Villiers.
”I’m willing to fight for players who are willing to fight for themselves,” he pledged.
The competition, which kicks off on February 18, gives players who failed to secure contracts with professional teams another opportunity to prove themselves. Players taking part should be 25 years and younger.
”We have enormous talent in our country. The guys who didn’t get contracts deserve another chance. In this competition we are going to have players who took part in the Craven A Week or Academy Week competition, which we might have missed at some stage,” said De Villiers.
But Ndebele disagreed: ”The guys taking part in the competition have been getting exposure all the time. It’s about time things are done differently. Great danger is facing South African rugby, as the market for rugby changes over time with more and more black people showing interest in the sport.
”The money spent on the tournament should be spent in developing rugby in townships and not put where money already exists,” said Ndebele.