Mbalula – how genuine is this censure?

SPORTS Minister Fikile Mbalula has stirred up a hornets’ nest by announcing censure of various sport bodies that have been found tardy on transformation targets by the socalled Eminent Persons Group.

Many sport fans are sceptical of any genuine intent by Mbalula, who has often displayed similar grandstanding with negligible positive results. Rugby is arguably the major sport offender of snail-pace progress to transform and meet our racial demographic.

The minister has shamefully fawned over the SA Rugby Union which was in full support of former coach Heyneke Meyer, who did little to give any expression to burgeoning black rugby talent.

Meyer was appointed after the 2011 Rugby World Cup with a mandate to develop a winning team to compete in the 2015 World Cup in the UK. From the outset it was clear that he had no intention of giving any playing time over the next four years to flair-filled black talent. He had already decided on a solid core of ageing white legends who would be selected no matter what the current performance levels of young African stars.

Under some public pressure he selected a few token black form players of the 2015 Super Rugby competition. Most of them ended up carrying the team kit. The white old crocks were blatantly given preference to any young talent.

Meyer would rather field a white player totally out of position than give a promising black player a chance to prove his worth for his country. Apologists for the malaise can dredge up multiple lame excuses such as the lack of support structures at junior school level, but the fact is there are adequate numbers of quality black players who would excel in a Springbok jersey if selected purely on merit.

But clearly there is a lack of will at top level by Saru and its team coaches to break the mould and select them.

They end up carrying the drinks on to the field or warming the substitutes bench, hoping for five minutes of game time. Saru should be replaced in total.

They have disgracefully thrown the Eastern Province Kings to the proverbial wolves in the Super competition with lack of financial and tactical support.

What kind of a useless administration in any sport code agrees to promote a novice team with a motley bunch of players, and no franchise funds, to superior leagues, without any promotion/relegation play-offs to ensure merit competition? At least South Africa is not alone as the Argentinian Jaguares and the Japanese Sunwolves are similarly being humiliated in onesided massacres week after week.

It is a blight on the wonderful sport of rugby and the fans have to pay big bucks to watch these farcical mismatches. South African sport fans deserve much better than this.

We demand meaningful progress to administrative professionalism and to ditch the airy-fairy window dressing, for meaningful transformation progress.

Admittedly Mbalula has to tread carefully as international sport bodies abhor any government interference in sport and AfriForum will attempt to exploit this avenue to maximum extent. WILL CARBIS Johannesburg