Why not properly explain what the whole point of the red Bok jersey is?
AT THE commencement of the Rugby Championship, SA Rugby sent out a picture of stand-in captain Eben Etzebeth wearing a red jersey flanked by Siya Kolisi in the regular green Test jersey and midfielders Damian de Allende and Jan Serfontein in the yellow and blue training jerseys.
It was intended to replicate the South African flag, and apparently “complete the jigsaw” along with the training jerseys. A show of unity. And, the official word was, it had been commissioned to mark the 25th anniversary of rugby unity in South Africa.
However, the reception had many seeing red. The Boks will now be wearing this jersey this weekend as they face Argentina in Salta.
It is a dangerous game to mess with tradition in a sport like rugby, especially in a country like South Africa where the phrase: ‘My blood is green’ is idiomatic. Seemingly, ‘My blood is red’ does not have the same effect…
Traditionalists are not seeing the funny side to this oneoff jersey, and they have their point, but there also needs to be some perspective.
Not everything about the Springbok brand is pure and welcoming. It has been, and still sometimes is, seen a mark of segregation from the times when players of colour were not even allowed to strive to play for their nation.
That is not to say the Bok should be banned and all history erased, but a celebration of a Rainbow Nation makes good sense, and even if it is a red jersey, at least it is striking and it is getting people talking.
The issue I have with the red jersey is that the manner in which it has been done has made it felt like a marketing gimmick masquerading as a noble act.
There has been very little explanation as to why this is happening, and a little too much input from the men profiting from making the jerseys, ASICS.
Baring one press release, filled with phrases like ‘limited edition’, ‘available in shops’, as well as the actual price, I have seen little celebration or explanation of the jersey.
Not many will have seen, or even known, about the Boks training in blue and yellow jerseys, so in the mind’s eye of many we now have green, white, and red tops ... a bit like Wales, rather than our own flag.
The story behind this jersey, and the reason for doing this is a good one.
“Rugby unity was achieved on 20 March 1992 following covert negotiations between the old South African Rugby Board (SARB) and the banned ANC from 1988 onwards,” the SARU press release reads.
“SARB and the non-racial South African Rugby Union, the South African Rugby Football Federation and the South African Rugby Association came together in 1992 to form the South African Rugby Football Union (SARFU) under the joint presidency of Ebrahim Patel (SARU) and Danie Craven (SARB). SARFU’s name was changed to SARU in 2003.”
If you are to be bold with a red jersey, be bold with promoting it and do it with pride, rather than a sheepish grin… unless, of course, it was ASICS’ idea?