Blacks are not getting a look in!
Peter de Villiers was quoted this week as saying that he was not happy with how black players (for the purpose of this article "black" will include both coloured and ethnic black players) are being treated by franchise coaches, and lamented the fact that he wasn't getting the support he has been asking for from the Super 14 coaches in this regard.
He pointed to the Lions, Cheetahs and Bulls as being the teams who have shown the least inclination to give black players opportunities.
De Villiers warned that people should expect a few surprises when he announces his first Springbok squad, stressing that he will be forced to pick players who he believes have the potential to be Springboks, but who haven't been given opportunities at Super 14 level and therefore are untested.
De Villiers' views on this matter are particularly perplexing, given that just a month ago he told SA Rugby magazine that in his recent meetings with the Super 14 coaches the issue of quotas was never discussed.
He said he trusted the coaches to pick the best black players, and when asked if he thought it was wise to have a gentleman's agreement rather than a formalised quota system, De Villiers said: "Quotas have destroyed the crayfish industry. Quotas are bad for the game because they imply that players are only there for political reasons."
De Villiers' primary point of contention is the amount of game time black players are receiving. If he had bothered to research the facts he would have held a slightly different view.
Keo.co.za did a comparison between the amount of game time black players had received by round five of the 2007 and 2008 Super 14 tournament. What was patently obvious is that, contrary to De Villiers claims, black players collectively have had significantly more game time in 2008.
What follows is the comparison between game time for black players in 2007 and 2008 by round five.
2008 - 1 371 minutes
2007 - 359 minutes
# An overall improvement of 1 012 minutes.
Verdict: At this stage last season the Sharks had played one less match, making their improvement even more noteworthy. What's more is that they have a number of talented academy and Vodacom Cup players being groomed to make the step up in the near future.
2008 - 1 878 minutes (this figure does not include Fijian Sereli Naqelevuki's game time)
2007 - 1 398 minutes
# An overall improvement of 480 minutes.
Verdict: In 2007 Conrad Jantjes was injured for three matches and Tonderai Chavhanga missed the entire season through injury, affecting the figure significantly.
The Stormers gained three black players in the off season (Brian Mujati, Gcobani Bobo and Ricky Januarie) who all are first-choice in their respective positions in 2008.
Their Currie Cup winning U19 and U21 sides are packed with talented young black players who will hopefully progress through the ranks in the coming years. De Villiers, while quick to criticise, has yet to publicly laud either the Stormers or the Sharks for their commitment to transformation.
2008 - 1 350 minutes
2007 - 984 minutes (First choice loosehead prop Gurthro Steenkamp was injured for the first two games of the season affecting this figure)
# An overall improvement of 366 minutes.
Verdict: Their 2008 improvement would have been 496 minutes if Zane Kirchner hadn't been red-carded in the 30th minute of round four and subsequently missed the next round.
That figure would have swelled even more had Bryan Habana and Akona Ndungane not missed two matches each through injury, and if Chiliboy Ralepelle (who would have been the first-choice hooker) had been fit. Throw long term casualty Wayne Julies (who would no doubt have come into the Bulls run-on side given the poor form of JP Nel) into the mix, and De Villiers's finger pointing at the Pretoria franchise looks foolish.
If both Ndungane and Habana had been fit and Ralepelle was given an average of 50 minutes a game up until round five, the Bulls' improvement would have been 936 minutes.
The future also looks bright for the Bulls as they have some of the country's best young black players in their junior ranks.
De Villiers argued that Hilton Lobberts deserves more game time, but he is going head-to-head with Springbok blindside flanks Pedrie Wannenburg and Danie Rossouw, and it is debatable whether he is a better option than either of them. Young Dewald Potgieter has proven to be an asset to the Bulls this season, and is a better choice off the wood than Lobberts - who has earned reputation for being a one-dimensional player who is over-reliant on his physical strength to smash opponents to oblivion.
De Villiers, however, does have a point when he questions why Tiger Mangweni hasn't been flown to New Zealand to cover for the banned Kirchner.
The Bulls used Morne Steyn at fullback against the Reds and he turned in a poor showing.
Yet they were reportedly toying with the idea of playing Habana - the world's most explosive winger - at fullback, despite having a player they said was bought to provide depth at fullback.
2008 - 956 minutes
2007 - 708 minutes
# An overall improvement of 248 minutes.
Verdict: The Cheetahs have problems. Transformation is happening too slowly in Bloemfontein, and an almost entirely white Craven Week side suggests it's not going to improve in the foreseeable future.
They acquired one black player in Jongi Nokwe and lost one in Tiger Mangweni - who had played for 260 minutes at this point last season.
They need to be purposeful about developing young black talent or alternatively, dig a lot deeper into their pockets and raid the Eastern Cape and Boland. Or else they will continued to be accused of failing.
2008 - 786 minutes
2007 - 176 minutes
# An overall improvement of 610 minutes.
Verdict: The Lions lost four black players at the end of 2007 (Ricky Januarie, Wylie Human, Brian Mujati and Lawrence Sephaka), and gained two in Rayno Benjamin and Dusty Noble - who are both first-choice players.
But even with those losses their black representation is poor. Even if Human and Sephaka had stayed to beef up the numbers, their presence would have been no more than window dressing, as both have been nothing more than average Super Rugby players throughout their careers.
They, like the Cheetahs, have serious work to do on developing young blacks.
De Villiers argued that centre Thabang Molefe should be given more opportunities at the Lions, which, given the quality on show in the Lions midfield, is perhaps a fair point.
But the player hasn't done himself any favours by skipping practice and saying through his agent that he lacks enthusiasm for rugby.
Molefe is thought to be one of De Villiers' "surprises" for the Springbok squad, but he will have to pull himself together if he is earn his place on merit and avoid the public torture that comes with being branded a quota player.
De Villiers' desire to see the game transformed is admirable. But ill-informed public tirades, the likes of which he showcased on Tuesday, will only tarnish his image. What he needs to do is make his expectations clear to franchise coaches, who can then make a considered decision about whether they will meet his requirements, or ignore them totally.
The challenge comes in the fact that they may hold very different views to De Villiers about the value of certain individuals - which I suspect is the case with Lobberts and Molefe. But some consensus needs to be reach soon - because it's embarrassing to hear our national coach lambast his peers on a global stage.
