South African party in court bid to bar ‘too-white’ Springboks squad from World Cup
A virtually unknown South African political party has made an urgent court bid to try and block the Springboks from flying to England this month for the Rugby World Cup, arguing the squad has too many white players.
A virtually unknown South African political party has made an urgent court bid to try and block the Springboks from flying to England this month for the Rugby World Cup, arguing the squad has too many white players.
The Agency for New Agenda (ANA), which says it broke away from the ruling ANC party in 2013, lodged the application last Friday a few hours before coach Heyneke Meyer named a record nine black players in the 31-man World Cup squad.
The team was “built on racially exclusionary and racially biased criteria,” which was unconstitutional, said party leader Edward Mokhoanatse.
We are asking the court to stop them from going [to England] and order them to surrender their passports
“So we are asking the court to stop them from going [to England] and order them to surrender their passports,” Mokhoanatse said.
The case, which cites sports minister Fikile Mbalula and the country’s rugby union SARU as respondents, is due to be heard in the High Court in Pretoria on Wednesday.
SARU will oppose the application, according to its spokesman Andy Colquhoun.
Traditionally a white Afrikaner sport, rugby became a symbol of national reconciliation when the country’s first black president, Nelson Mandela, famously donned a Springboks jersey when presenting winning captain Francois Pienaar with the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa.