As a nation, South Africa deserves a whole lot more and so does the game of Rugby.

Writing about colour, race and politics is probably my least favourite topic to discuss, taking into consideration that in my view it doesn't belong near any form of sports. As a professional athlete, your race should play no part in any criteria for participation except for when you are a South African athlete, I would assume...  

In sport there is a saying that timing is absolutely everything, and with less than two months before the Rugby World Cup, it has been proven to be exactly the same for politicians and dimwits pushing their own agendas. Not even 48 hours after South Africa's shock defeat to Argentina, Tony Ehrenreich, the provincial secretary of Cosatu (South Africa's largest workers union) claimed that Heyneke Meyer is deliberately not selecting black players in the match 23. Though there is merit in Erenreich's claims that some players are denied game time, he failed to mention that those players denied are all South Africans, some black, and some white, not that it should matter anyway.  

There is a reason why boxers are not allowed to continue a fight while the opponent is down and out lying on the canvas dreaming about sunshine on a cloudy day...

Rule of thumb makes this quite simple, "you don't kick someone while he is down" and believe me Heyneke Meyer and his Springbok team was pretty much knocked out! This is a gesture that most South African supporters seem to forget whenever our heroes are lying flat on the canvas grasping for air, fighting a count down. No one took more punches and blows than our own Jake White. He was highly criticised for his defensive game plan, selections, losses and for sticking with captain John

Smit. However everything seem to have changed on the eve of 20 October 2007. All of a sudden this same guy was considered a genius and one of the best that we had ever had... Seriously? After a career of more than 100 test caps we seem to be nothing more than our last performance. This is how short-sighted we have become. Speculation has it that whenever you are fortunate enough to have a fan base, you are in no need of any enemies...

Faf de Klerk, Elton Jantjies, Scarra Ntubeni, Schalk Brits, Heinke Van der Merwe, Steven Kitshoff, Zane Kirchner, Franco Mostert, Rudi Page and even Patrick Lambie all have good reason to question their lack of participation in this year's Rugby Championship, but as far as I am concerned, it should

be a honour and a privilege to represent your country at the highest level, not a right! 

Has our standards deteriorated to such an extend where players can now all of a sudden claim game time? A track athlete doesn't have to qualify for finals, he could just claim that he is good enough and with the sound of a gun he's running next to Mr. Bolt himself.

I am not defending the lack of squad rotation by no means, and I too question the Springboks' approach over the last 10 months but I would very much like to erase the political concerns that has now been aired. Obviously the national coach has a game plan (probably not a very good or successful one I might add) and some players might not fit into the picture, though they are good enough to fill the void should injury force the hand of the coach. One should also hope that Heyneke Meyer still has his eyes firmly set on the World Cup and as I have stated on a dozen occasions, that takes proper preparation.

The term "kwota" in my view is rather offensive, and one I despise using. Would the minister of sport Mr. Fikile Mbalula refer to world cup winning, international player of the year Bryan Habana as a player of colour, or as a "kwota"? I would certainly hope not! 

Players like Breyton Paulse, Chester Williams, Errol Tobias, Brian Mujati, Eddie Andrews and personal friend of mine Ashley Johnson deserve a whole lot more than to be referred to as "kwota" players. They all made the national side on merit, and the fact that the government forces the selectors to have a certain amount of players of colour in a team places players of colour under immense pressure, and this should be brought to an end, as South Africa consist of bucket loads of players of colour who is coming through the ranks with heap loads of talent and potential. Consider this, if Jonah Lomu or Tana Umaga was representing the Springboks they would have been regarded as making up numbers, instead of being considered for what they really were, brilliant rugby players. 

I find it mind blowing that a coach of a national team is held responsible for "transformation". Surely his job is to coach, strategise a proper game plan and to make sure that the country's best rugby players fill the trophy cabinets. Transformation is something that the South African Rugby Union should take accountability for. They are to make sure that the game gets promoted in areas where people previously did not have the opportunity of playing rugby. Take the sport to all schools and let the talent develop naturally.

Tony Ehrenreich (Cosatu)

Earlier this year the South African Proteas was blown out of the Cricket World Cup, and the only thing that the media could rant about afterwards was the fact that there was allegedly interfered with last minute team selections. As they had it the call came from some guy wearing a tie and authority, apparently. It was argued that the coach had to play injured medium pace bowler Vernon Philander, because in Philander's absence the team would be considered "politically incorrect". Philander, when fit, is probably one of the best bowlers in the world and one I highly rate. Personally I believe Philander has the goods to in future be compared to the likes of Shuan Pollock and Australia's Glen McGrath, but obviously not while he is playing with an injury. The injustice in this scenario, should it be true, was not against the team who lost and dropped out of the World Cup, but rather towards the individual. Vernon Philander is by no means a "kwota" player and South Africa seems to be the only country in the world where players are regarded as such. How humiliating and unfair, to say the

least. 

21 years after independence, and probably after a life time of inaccuracy, Mr. Ehrenreich is still

campaigning for a national team to be selected on the demographic state of a nation, instead of merit. If his wish were to be somehow commanded, a 23 man team would ultimately consist of 18 Black

Africans, 2 Coloureds, 2 Whites, and 1 Asian. The mere fact that I have to differentiate between

South Africans is offensive and I find it sickening to say the least. Personally I believe the true heroes of this world like Madiba, fought a damn hard fight to make sure that 21 years after apartheid we are all equal, and valued for our input, not the colour of our skin... Select 23 SOUTH AFRICANS, FULL STOP.

With this uncomfortable article now written and soon to be published, I would like to plead with South African politicians and media to keep away from racial debate and racial issues. Within the sport of rugby we are all friends and ultimately family, and if anything could unite South Africa, there could be no better example than the one of Rugby World Cup 95'. Let the guys play, and lets suport them all the way, together as ONE NATION!