Yawn.

I was unlucky enough to be at the game on Saturday, watching a 14-man (and for 10 minuted 13 man) Irish team blunt a Bok unit that played with little to no cohesion.

Aimless kicking, poor decision-making, a series of loose passes when scoring opportunities beckoned, these all played their part in a first defeat to the Irish on home soil.

Walking out of the stadium I knew two things –  stiff drinks were in order and everyone was going to rant about transformation again.

Cue former Springbok prop Ockie Oosthuizen, who played nine tests back in the early eighties. Facebook was his chosen platform, and let’s see what he had to say with the help of Sport24:

“I was privileged to play for South Africa over a four-year period, even though it was in the apartheid era and time of isolation. But all that mattered to us was to play the game we loved and enjoyed.

“In spite of that, politics had a big influence on the game and we saw the full effects of that during the 1981 tour to New Zealand.

“Since then the game has turned professional and money has played a bigger role. However, in spite of that, politics still dominate the game.

“We have to compete in the highly competitive world of professional rugby against countries who are free of political interference. They are able to at all times compete with their best teams without interference from their governments.

“Furthermore, we have to compete in a highly competitive environment with the rest of the world while there is prescribed to us who we should pick – while at the same time we are expected to compete with the best in the world and win.”

“The time has come for all stakeholders, like shareholders, players, rugby supporters, sponsors etc. to withdraw their participation, attendance and involvement from the game… until the professional arm is fully privatised and rugby in South Africa is restructured to function just like a public company with the ‘corporate governance’ that goes with it.

“Amateur rugby can be funded by the professional arm and government and that’s where development should take place, not at international level where we have to compete professionally. At that level we have to win at all costs, because that’s all that matters!

“I feel there is only one way in which the message can be conveyed loud and clear to SARU and their media partners and that is an overall boycott, especially at a Test match!

“It will very quickly make SARU, the media and sponsors realise that the game needs to be restructured to adapt to the business norms of the rest of the world and mainly free of political interference!”

Let’s just focus on one thing that he said, “at that level we have to win at all costs, because that’s all that matters”. Well sorry Ockie, but unless your head has been buried in the Jukskei River you know that isn’t all that matters.

As someone who played in the eighties, when the team was as lily-white as a Donald Trump convention, he should know that the wrongs of the past need to be addressed.

It’s unfortunate that there is political meddling at the highest level, it pains all rugby-loving fans in this country, but beating the same old drum every time we lose is tiresome.

Let’s be kind and give Allister a little time to stamp his mark on the team, and let’s hope Morne Steyn doesn’t step foot on the pitch.

[source:sport24]