Former Springbok centre Kaya Malotana is impressed at how balanced the Springbok squads have been in the Rugby World Cup in France in terms of racial transformation.
Supersport’s Phaka Rugby talk show host and isiXhosa commentator Malotana played his only match for the Springboks against Spain in the 1999 Rugby World Cup, becoming the first black African player to represent South Africa in the global showpiece.
Just after taking the reins in 2017, Rassie Erasmus, the 2019 World Cup-winning Bok coach who is now director of rugby, said “transformation” was not something he would shy away from during his tenure”. Erasmus said transformation would be gauged by the number of minutes each black Bok played and not how many black players were in a starting 15 or a match-day squad, and players would not be selected to create an illusion of transformation.
In their 18-3 Rugby World Cup pool B opener against Scotland in Marseille, the Boks featured 10 black players in the match-day 23 (43%), in their 76-0 walkover of Romania the team had nine (39%), and in the big clash against Ireland, nine black players were named.
Former Bulldogs and Lions midfielder Malotana believes the Boks now represent the true definition of a transformed team.
“It is amazing now that when we look at the selection of a match-day 23, most of us look at the balance of the team based on opposition and how we want the team to play, and we don’t even think of the colour of the players,” Malotana said.
“For me, that is true transformation. Yes, we can never get complacent about creating equal opportunities because you digress from the gains made.”
While the Springboks are in a state of euphoria after knocking out hosts France on Sunday, another pathfinding black African former Bok, Tim Dlulane, cautioned the squad to quickly hit the reset button. They need to not be caught in the moment heading to the semifinals and avoid being like Eddie Jones’s 2019 England side who peaked too early, losing the final against South Africa.
The defending champions beat France 29-28 in a thrilling quarterfinal at a jam-packed Stade de France in Paris on Sunday evening. The Boks came into the match third on the rankings list, but the win in the City of Love meant Jacques Nienaber’s chargers climbed to number one, displacing Ireland, who bowed out to New Zealand in the World Cup on Saturday.
With their tails up, the Boks are now set for a meeting with old foes England at the same venue in Paris on Saturday in a repeat of the 2019 final in Japan.
The Springboks must quickly bring themselves down and you only do that by reviewing the negatives more than the positives.It will be important for the team to look at the mistakes they made against France and review as if we had not beaten France.
— Tim Dlulane
England are the only team unbeaten in the tournament so far. They made the semifinals by the skin of their teeth against a magnificent and proud Fiji, beating them 30-24. Though they are in good form, many argue they are still vulnerable and that they had an easy route in the group stages and last eight.
England have been blowing hot and cold in terms of results since the last edition four years ago and that led to Jones, who took them to the final in Yokohama in 2019, being shown the door just a few months before the World Cup.
Despite their fluctuating form, they have made it clear they will be on a revenge mission against the Boks at the weekend. The last time England beat the South African team was in November 2021. Their most recent meet was at Twickenham in 2022 and ended in victory for the Boks.
Former flank Dlulane, who was capped once for the Springboks in 2004 during a successful career with the Bulls and Pumas, said South Africa must quickly come off cloud nine, regroup and not be carried away.
“The job is not done,” he said. “We saw in 2019 after England beat New Zealand, who were at their peak, in the semifinals they relaxed in the final and could not keep up with the pace at the end. They thought since they had beaten the best team in the world at that time, the next game was going to be an easy task.
“The Springboks must quickly bring themselves down and you only do that by reviewing the negatives more than the positives.
“It will be important for the team to look at the mistakes they made against France and review as if we had not beaten France and say we can do better because that is the fibre of champions.
“Each individual must go back and fix his errors because they have been afforded another opportunity, which is to play England — something that France don’t have the privilege of any more.”
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