Racism and the under-representation of people of colour, a subject that has been inherent in the South African rugby team since Nelson Mandela erected it as a symbol of South African unity during the 1995 World Cup. A “chestnut tree”, despite the players and the staff, which we wanted to approach during the week of the Springboks in the Var, before facing the XV of France this Saturday at the Vélodrome stadium (9 p.m.).
Except that we were kindly sent back to our 22 meters. “The team is preparing a test match, players and coaches will not talk about racism. We have a fantastic country, with many different races, cultures and religions, so we are not talking about racism, ”we were told on the subject from the side of the Springbok delegation. Digging a little deeper, it even seems that the players have specifically asked not to address this issue again at the dawn of preparation for the 2023 World Cup.
Siya Kolisi, the first black captain of the Springboks
A year ago, however, Seiya Kolisi, the first black captain in the history of the Springboks, took part in a round table on racism on the occasion of the last visit of South Africans to France, in the Paris region. In 1995, only one black player was present in the World Champion squad, and only two during the 2007 title. The appointment of Seiya Kolisi is a step forward, but the racial question remains central, as evidenced by his public position in the summer of 2020.
“It is time for all of us to change and start making South Africa what so many people fought for, so many people died for. I have been in a position of leadership in sport for a long time and I did not raise the issue of racism because I was afraid of being excluded or I was afraid of being perceived as different, “he confided on his social networks.
Not a question of quotas
With nine players of color out of the 23 summoned to face the XV of France on Saturday, the Springboks seem to be gradually overcoming this question. “For me, the South African team lined up on Saturday evening illustrates precisely that South African rugby is accelerating its transition phase. This was not the case at the 2007 World Cup, nor at that of 2015. Apartheid still weighs on the inequalities of the country, but it must be recognized that there is change within the national window that are the Springboks”, suggests Julien Migozzi, a researcher at the University of Oxford who has worked on Apartheid in South Africa.
According to him, this progress is not limited to the establishment of quotas by the Ministry of Sports, “a media and political debate more than a lever for transformation”: “We do not know who the quota players are and it must not forget that the first goal of the Springboks is to win. They are not three times world champions for nothing”, recalls the researcher.
But deeper transformations
This transformation is rather to be put on the side of “the arrival at the head of the federation, the selection or the clubs of South Africa, of former players who frequented mestizos and blacks and whose racism is less exacerbated. They will more easily give young players confidence and are more aware of their multi-ethnic environment,” according to Julien Migozzi. Rassie Erasmus, the former Springbok coach, is one of them. He played in the national team in the 90s and represents the establishment, he speaks Afrikaans, but knows how to play cultural divides well enough to show the diversity of the country thanks to his friendship with mixed-race players. His choice to make Seiya Kolisi, who shares the same origins as Neslon Mandela, the first black captain of the Springboks, is the perfect example.
This is also the case of Eduard Coetzee, the former South African pillar who passed through Bayonne and Biarritz, who wrote a thesis on the methods of transformation, before taking charge of the Durban Sharks, one of the most big clubs in South Africa. He appointed a black captain, Lukhanyo Am, and the slogan “I see colors” is displayed in large in their stadium. “We celebrate every color and culture that makes up the Rainbow Nation,” he says.
But for Julien Migozzi, this transformation has above all been favored by access to the best schools for people of color.
“The Springboks are just the ultimate showcase of the country’s professional and rugby system. They are only 23 to represent several thousand players. And the common point of all these players is that they all went through the best rugby schools in the country. The sport is done at school, according to the Anglo-Saxon model and it is necessary to go through prestigious high schools, to become a professional rugby player. Throughout colonialism, these high schools were reserved for whites, but they now offer scholarships to promising young black and mixed-race players, as was the case for Syia Kolisi or Chelsin Kolbe, ”underlines the researcher.
The myth of white sport rugby
Rugby, a sport practiced only by whites in South Africa, isn’t it a myth? “Rugby was built as a white Afrikaner identity, and that was also a selection criterion. While whites make up just 8% of the population, the Springboks have long been the team of a ruling demographic minority. But in towns and villages, everyone plays rugby”, deconstructs Julien Migozzi.
Rugby reserved for whites, a received idea which has also largely infused within white populations, as Eduard Coetzee confided to the Daily Maverick. “I was always told that rugby was the sport of white people. Later I realized it was played in black and mixed-race townships. It was therefore not a question of bringing a new sport there, but rather of going there, with humility, to ask for forgiveness ”. A pardon that finally seems to bear fruit.