Rugby Shorts
With more and more white South African players considering emigrating to Australia so they can play rugby at the highest level SA Rugby president Brian van Rooyen made a statement on this day in rugby history in 2005 saying that the national team was no longer using a ‘policy of racial quotas.’
"Our Union deeply regrets the situation, as it is not a fair reflection of what is going on in the country. For the record, SA Rugby has now shifted from the policy of racial quotas."
In his statement he went on to say that the national selection committee based decision on the merits of the players regardless of whether they are white or black.
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The racial quotas were adopted earlier to help benefit players that were previously excluded because they were black.
In his remarks he added that the Under-19 and Under-21 national teams had done well at competitions and were more representative of the racial diversity of the country.
"Our Under-19 and Under-21 squads have done very well on the international scene, with a strongly-transformed make-up. In fact, they have even won World Championships in their respective categories."
