It took 12 years for the Springboks to win their second Rugby World Cup (RWC) and I am sure many of you vaguely remember where you where when the final whistle blew in France a couple of weeks ago. I am sure alcohol flowed across the streets of Pretoria, Sandton, Durban, Bloemfontein and Cape Town. I am not sure how much of it flowed in Thembisa, Orange Farm and the many townships in South Africa. So I have been asking myself, who really won the RWC, was it 13 White guys and two Coloureds or South Africa as a whole?

I grew up in Centurion, outside Pretoria. I never had any Black friends until we needed them after F W De Klerk gave the country to the Blacks. I have always loved rugby and cricket even with the meddling of the politicians who continue to try make them Black sports like soccer. I do not understand why they continue to try and mess up our game, which won us praise around the world. Nothing has changed, we Whites still run rugby. When we won in 1995, there were 14 White players and 1 coloured guy on the Wing. This year there were 13 White players and 2 Coloured players both on the Wing. There was one Black African in the whole squad. So how can this be a victory for everyone, if everyone did not contribute?

Time has not changed our history; transformation did not usher in 11 Black players to win the RWC. Time has not changed our rugby, yes we are in a democracy, yes Blacks have rights and yes they have the right to the economy but they do not have a right to our rugby. I am sure that this will not go down well with some of the readers but truth be told, this RWC was won by a team lead by a man called John Smit and coached by a man called Jake White. This is a victory for those who did not allow transformation to taint our game. The Blacks should stick to soccer; you don’t see us Whites crying for transformation in Bafana-Bafana. We should be allowed to keep rugby and cricket and the Blacks can keep soccer.

By Henri Jacques Smit