Wed, Jul 29, 2015 page18

• Young S Africans tackle race barrier

  • AFP, CAPE TOWN
  • • 
    • 
    • 

  A new “Beast” could be in the making on a scruffy field in an impoverished South African township, where black children dream of sidestepping the race barrier into the Springboks rugby team.

  Lamla Nunu is 13 years old and weighs a hefty 85kg, a good start for a potential front-rower in a team known internationally for its physical aggression.

  In the sprawling township of Khayelitsha in Cape Town, where volunteers are introducing young black children to a sport dominated by whites under apartheid, he plays prop.

  ‘THE BEAST’

  That is the same position as his Springboks hero, Zimbabwe-born Tendai “The Beast” Mtawarira, who is also popular with South Africa’s mainly white Afrikaner supporters and receives an approving roar every time he surges forward with the ball tucked under his arm.

  However, Nunu will have to scrum hard to become the new Beast, who is the only regular black African player in the Springboks starting lineup.

  Under pressure from the government, the South African Rugby Union (SARU) pledged to include seven non-white players in 23-man match squads in the run-up to the Rugby World Cup in England starting on Sept. 18.

  At least two of the seven non-whites in the squads would be black Africans, the SARU said, distinguishing them from players of mixed race — known as “coloureds” — who have long played a role in Springboks teams.

  However, the squad for the first Springboks game of the season on July 11 against a World XV fell short of the target, with three black Africans and two mixed race players chosen.

  TRANSFORMATION

  The commitment is part of plans for radical racial transformation in the traditionally white sport, which aims to have non-whites making up half of all domestic and national teams by 2019.

  Perhaps by the time Nunu and the other 30 or so children on the field in Khayelitsha are old enough for a call-up, the times will have changed.

  “I want to play for [Western Cape Super XV side] the Stormers and the Springboks,” the 13-year-old said. “I love everything about the game, how it goes, the rules, everything.”

  “[He also likes] the physicality,” said coach Murray Ingram of the non-profit organization Connect Sports Academy. “He likes running into people.”

  Nunu is shy in a brief interview, but when he trots off and takes on three other players in a mock scrum, they go backward.

  He is not the only potential Springbok on the field, Ingram said.

  There is fleet-footed Ilitha Ntinini, 11, who prefers to be known as “Mr. 10” — in recognition of his ambition to be the Springboks’ flyhalf one day.

  He weighs in at less than 40kg, but “he will grow” Murray said.

  Nutrition is singled out as one of the issues facing any attempt to level the rugby playing field in South Africa.

  The average white male teenager is more likely to eat steak than maize meal, which is the staple diet of South Africa’s poor.

  However, even if a black child grows up rough, tough and healthy, he is far less likely than his white counterparts to attend a school where good rugby training is available.

  In crime-ridden Khayelitsha, where a field behind a shopping center has no posts, the oval ball offers an after-school activity that does not involve drugs or gang warfare.

  “I spend most of my days here on the sports field so there is no time to waste on gangster stuff,” said Litha Dyalvane, 14, who plays center. “It is cool when you get to know it.”

  LACK OF EVERYTHING

  The lack of posts on the field is symbolic of a lack of everything else for the wannabe Springboks — from boots to uniforms.

  One thing there is not a lack of is talent, Ingram said.

  “A couple of the kids are exceptionally talented. If they were from other circumstances, they would already be at Bishops [or another top South African school known for its rugby prowess],” he said.

  He is backed up by Andri Stander, the manager of the Western Cape Rugby Institute, where 18 to 20-year-old rugby stars of the future spend a full year training in world-class facilities.

  “We have got great examples of players who came out of disadvantaged areas, who have proven themselves time and time again... There is a lot of talent out there,” Stander said.

  South African Minister of Sport and Recreation Fikile Mbalula said racial transformation in rugby is “morally ... the right thing to do considering the great injustices of the past, and strategically because of the reality that 84 percent of the country’s under-18-year-old population grouping is black African, and only 16 is white, colored and Indian.”

  RACIAL QUOTAS

  Racial quotas in national rugby and cricket sides are a subject of fierce debate in South Africa, where soccer is by far the most popular sport among the black population.

  Some fans of the traditionally “white” sports fear that the selection of players on anything other than merit would weaken the national teams.

  Ingram’s answer is that the talent is there, but has to be nurtured among the very young.

  “We have noticed with our kids playing tournaments that by the time they get to 10 years old, they are already on the back foot in terms of nutrition and conditioning and that kind of thing... How you create Springboks out of this kind of environment is a question that needs to be answered … at grassroots level.”
• Most Popular

  • 1

    China to ban sales to US

  • 2

    Earthquakes exceeding magnitude 5.5 on the Richter scale hit 14-year high

  • 3

    Taiwan places military on high alert

  • 4

    China warships near Taiwan nearly doubles

  • 5

    Flights arranged for Taiwanese stranded in Okinawa