1 . DeBlocq 16 Aug 2013 05:06 AM
This is all the result of a popular post-1994 buzzword: "transformation". This means giving people who were previously-disadvantaged a chance to kickstart their careers, be it in industry, business or sport.

South African rugby is still very much dominated by white players. However, black people in South Africa (in general terms) prefer soccer. I think this accounts for the lack of black players coming through the developmental programs, and teams are going to have to look very hard to fill the quotas that have been imposed (7 in each starting 22, 5 in the starting 15 and at least 2 forwards - most black players are speedy outside backs).

Despite the moral idea of promoting less capable black players ahead of white, the logistical issue is also a problem. Unless they can prove that racism is playing in a role in stunting black players' careers, I don't think this is feasible.

It's not a problem that we have a "black" sport and a "white" sport, and I think crossover is generally encouraged. We have had some great black players who managed just fine in this system (Habana, Pietersen, Mtawarira, Kolisi, Basson to name a few in the current Bok scope, as well as historical names like Breyten Paulse, Ashwin Willemse, Chavanga and Chester Williams).