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The failure of eight South Africans to kneel before a recent English Premiership match in London angered South African Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa.
FILE: Siya Kolisi of the Stormers. Image: Thestormers.com
PRETORIA – South African rugby resumes on Saturday with 12 Springbok World Cup champions on display in an empty stadium, where much of the media attention will be on what happens before the two games.
World Cup captain Siya Kolisi made no commitment Friday on whether he would kneel in Pretoria to support the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement that seeks racial justice.
“There are many things that people can do to show their support (for BLM),” said the loose forward who two years ago became South Africa’s first black captain in a test.
“We (the players) are not going to judge each other. I hope my teammates respect my decision and I will respect what they do.”
“If you ask me tomorrow (Saturday) what I did, I will answer you. Each of my colleagues can explain their actions.”
The failure of eight South Africans to kneel before a recent English Premiership match in London angered South African Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa.
Eleven of the 15 Sale Sharks starters remained standing before playing the Harlequins, including Springbok World Cup winners Faf de Klerk and Lood de Jager.
“They were wearing BLM support jerseys but they did not kneel so I interacted with SA Rugby and asked President Mark Alexander to explain what is happening,” Mthethwa said.
“Racist behavior cannot be tolerated and the president of SA Rugby said there will be a meeting after which they will make their views known.”
The national rugby body has yet to publicly react to the actions of the South Africans, six of whom are contenders for Springbok spots should they go to the Rugby Championship.
ONLY 174 IN THE STADIUM
Kolisi leads the Stormers against the Lions in the second game of a double header from Pretoria marking the resumption of a sport suspended in March due to the coronavirus.
Earlier, the Bulls take on the Sharks at Loftus Versfeld Stadium as the four South African Super Rugby teams prepare for two national competitions starting on 10 October.
The Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers will join the Cheetahs, Griquas and Pumas in a Super Rugby Unlocked tournament until November 21, followed by the Currie Cup.
Only 174 people will be allowed inside the 50,000-seat stadium and the Bulls and Sharks teams must leave the field before the Lions and Stormers can enter.
“Security at Loftus will resemble Fort Knox,” a Bulls official told AFP, referring to the US military facility that houses much of the nation’s gold reserves.
“Only players, coaches, medical personnel and stadium personnel will be allowed in and there are separate sterilized changing rooms for each team.
“When the games are over, the players will walk to the locker room, trade boots for shoes, grab their gear bags and leave.”
SA Rugby Medical Manager Clint Readhead expects months of preparations for the return of rugby to pay off.
“A lot of people have worked very hard to get us to this point where we are ready to get rugby going. I think we have done everything we can to mitigate the risks.”
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