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I have written this article just after the Rugby world cup last year but I had to wait before posting it as there we too many rugby related article at that time. I wanted to also post it again this year but I also had to wait as something new came up which the announcement by the minister of Sports to ban Rugby and other sporting codes from hosting international events due to lack of transformation. This also presented me with another opportunity to update my article and include this development.
The idea on this topic came about when I was comparing Rugby and soccer in terms of talent requirements to be a star. This led me to watch a few rugby games just to see how talent plays itself out and how different plays play the same position. What I could see as the most important things players need here is speed which is outrunning your opponents to score a try and strength to enable you to ward off all attempts to stop you from scoring. No matter how had I tried to see if I cannot add the third requirement I just could not because I tried adding cognitive brilliance but even a very stupid player can speed his way through defence and place the ball anywhere across the line it is still a try. This is what I came up with as the reason why we don’t have record breaking signings in Rugby. This also makes it easy for rugby couches to only look to white players to fill positions and they get away with it because there is more than enough.
In soccer, there’s a different requirement for different positions. For starters, in Soccer a player is either right-footed or left-footed. Dexterity here makes a player more expensive. For attackers or striker, ability to shoot straight and with power is a must have. For attacking midfielders skill is a must have. For wingers speed is a must have. For central midfielders strength and ability to distribute the ball as well as marking is needed. For back liners or defenders ability to man mark and read the game is needed. I can go on and on and this makes players with more of one attribute more expensive and in demand. Take Zanedine Zidane for an example. We are still not able to get a player close to his talent even today.
I read in disbelief the decision made by SARU to get rid of the promotion/relegation undertaking in the rugby league. Most of the articles I have read about this don’t offer any sense making reason for this decision. The advantages in implementing this relegation/promotion are that bottom teams get something to play for as they will not win the league in 100 years. This helps in increasing competition year after year. This also brings in new talent as small teams search everywhere for talent. This also got me asking myself if SARU does not have a desire to elevate rugby in South Africa among the top sports. The only possible reason I can think of for this decision is to keep Rugby in white hands as long as possible.
MBALULA’S SUSPENSION OF INTERNATIONAL EVENTS
I personally believe that the minister here made a punitive decision without thinking of whether it will achieve the desired result or not. What’s going to stop the small teams from continuing the status quo?
This has a lot of adverse effects and change is not one of them. Among those will be denying the country an economic opportunity to grow which is brought about by these tournaments. It also gives an impression that there is political muddling in everything including sport.
My solution to all of this is to force SARU to add 2 new non-white teams in the Rugby league. They can either do this by removing the bottom 2 or by adding the 2. These will be a force to be reckoned with as they have a very large pool from which to get players.
On a departing note, Sport and politics must always be separate. Issues of racism must be dealt with individually. This will help ensure the future of the sport.
