Racism has never been a problem for Springboks, says Skinstad

Former Springbok captain Bobby Skinstad yesterday backed the decision to postpone the investigation into racism in the South African squad until after the Rugby World Cup. And he said that racial prejudice had never been a problem in any of the national sides he had been involved in.

'In terms of preparation for the World Cup, I believe the decision to push back the inquiry to post-World Cup is the best thing for the team. The players need as little distraction as possible and they need to concentrate on the tournament,' said Skinstad, who was in town for the annual Sevens Long Lunch.

Skinstad, who said he had shared rooms with coloured (mixed race) players in the past, has played for Western Province with Quinton Davids, who is one of the central figures in the race storm which has enveloped South Africa in recent weeks. Locks Geo Cronje and Davids were dropped from the Springbok squad after Cronje allegedly refused to share a room with Davids, a coloured player.

'I have played with Davids for the past three years,' said Skinstad. 'I have never seen racism as an issue in any of the South African squads I have been involved with.'

Number eight Skinstad, 27, was not picked to represent South Africa at next month's World Cup as he is still recovering from a broken right arm suffered during a club match last month.

Skinstad said he was captain of the first South African team picked on a quota basis - just after Nelson Mandela became president in 1994 - and that in all his years with the national set-up, had never seen race as an issue. 'I captained the under-19s that year and it was the first multi-racial sports side in South Africa. There were 15 blacks and 15 whites in the squad, the first time a team was picked on a quota basis. Race has never been an issue as far as I was concerned,' said Skinstad. 'I have never been able to see people any different because of their skin colour. On a personal level, I feel there is a vast difference between racism and any form of bias and I think this whole episode has been hugely sensationalised.'