The Springboks Are The Best Team In The World Because They Transformed

This last weeks furore in South African cricket over the Eastern Province Warriors failure to meet transformation targets got me thinking about how rugby, ironically, has been the trailblazers in local sport.

I say ironically because during the apartheid era, the Springboks were regarded by many as the poster boys of white supremacy.

This is perfectly understandable and the Boks can only hope that actions speak louder than words. As the team continues to show happy integration, the numbers of the Cape Crusaders, as they call themselves, will diminish. We will find that the children of the Cape Crusaders will support the Boks as their parents schooled in a very different South Africa die out.

Why wouldnt the youth support the Boks when it is the likes of Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse scoring tries for a team captained by Siya Kolisi.

But transformation in South African rugby had a rocky start. The 1995 World Cup was won with Chester Williams the sole player of colour. The famous photograph of Joel Stranskys winning drop goal has Chester blocked by a pole and white players make up the foreground.