If there is one thing SA rugby did not need, it was another scandal. The whole Luke Watson sage ended up very close to one.
Before I give my point of view on the whole story, let’s look at what happened. The national selectors selected a training squad of 45 players to join a training camp. When the squad was announced, there were suddenly 46 players. The news broke that the president of the SA rugby board, Oregan Hoskins, and one of his vice presidents, Mike Stofile, decided that Luke Watson had to be included in the squad. It is common knowledge that Jake White does not see a role for Watson in his team. Then the rubbish continued. First Mr Hoskins acknowledged the fact that they put Watson in the squad and that they felt the selectors had erred in not selecting him in the first place. If it ended there, it would probably have dies a death.
The statements then started getting a lot more ludicrous. Hoskins then made a statement to East Coast radio that if Watson got trimmed from the squad, White will have to find another work. A statement that he distanced himself from later, but although he did not say it in that many words, the meaning of what he said was very clear. Mike Stofile and Ebrahim Rasool, premier of the Western Cape, then went even further and really made a joke out of the situation by calling Watson as good as black and saying that he should actually be regarded as a quota a player! Stofile then went even further and accused the national selectors of not selecting the Watson due to the history his father has with rugby.
To understand his last statement, it may be good to look at the [now] famous Cheeky Watson. Before this balls-up in rugby at the moment, very few people could actually remember the antics of mainly Cheeky Watson and his brother Valance in the mid seventies. Why Cheeky takes more of the limelight is that he was a great wing who was at that stage very close to a call-up to the Springbok side. To make a long story short, he was asked to assist in coaching a
team in a black township and when he got roughed up for it, he joined the club. This put him in total contravention of the group areas act as he entered a black township after hours and also associated with them. He got beaten up and thrown into jail often, but remained true to his conviction, which lead to him being banned from SA sport. For most of the world he became a forgotten wing and only the people who were there in that area can still remember him – until now. (Photo of Cheeky Watson)
The for Watson brother has since grown old and the days when they defied the regime has now paid off for them and they are very well connected in the business world. There is however one specific friendship which I feel had a huge influence on what happened to Luke now. That is a very tight friendship between Cheeky Watson and the Stofile brothers. The one is the vice president of SA rugby [a controversial figure himself] and the other is the ex premier of the Eastern Cape Province and now minister of sport. I am sure that it is this connection that has forced Luke Watson into the Springbok group and not any form or stature the player has. The comments that it is all about unfairness towards the player, is just a smokescreen.
Taking that into consideration means that the forced selection of Luke is not on merit, neither as a quota player, but plain and simple as a political choice due to his fathers’ background and connections.
I have no doubt that Luke will wear the green and gold this year, That decision has already been taken by the higher echelons in SA sport and there is nothing that Jake White or the selectors can do about it. If Cheeky Watson was given the honour of a Springbok jacket – which he probably missed out on due to his political stance – I will fully support it. I think Cheeky moved boundaries in South Africa in the seventies and needs the recognition for it.
The question I have, however, is when Luke gets his jacket; can he wear it with the pride it deserves? How must he feel knowing that his selection was not due to the will of the selectors, but rather due to politics? The same politics that possibly kept the jacket from his father will now in some strange reversal of fortunes become his. Will he be able to sleep well on that thought, I don’t think so.
At the end of the day, it is about a player who is undoubtedly very talented and although he is sometimes a bit of a loose cannon with his mouth, he should eventually force himself into the real squad with good play on the field. Let that do the talking and not his mouth or his fathers conections.
Mike Stofile, Vice President SARU
Before I give my point of view on the whole story, let’s look at what happened. The national selectors selected a training squad of 45 players to join a training camp. When the squad was announced, there were suddenly 46 players. The news broke that the president of the SA rugby board, Oregan Hoskins, and one of his vice presidents, Mike Stofile, decided that Luke Watson had to be included in the squad. It is common knowledge that Jake White does not see a role for Watson in his team. Then the rubbish continued. First Mr Hoskins acknowledged the fact that they put Watson in the squad and that they felt the selectors had erred in not selecting him in the first place. If it ended there, it would probably have dies a death.
The statements then started getting a lot more ludicrous. Hoskins then made a statement to East Coast radio that if Watson got trimmed from the squad, White will have to find another work. A statement that he distanced himself from later, but although he did not say it in that many words, the meaning of what he said was very clear. Mike Stofile and Ebrahim Rasool, premier of the Western Cape, then went even further and really made a joke out of the situation by calling Watson as good as black and saying that he should actually be regarded as a quota a player! Stofile then went even further and accused the national selectors of not selecting the Watson due to the history his father has with rugby.
To understand his last statement, it may be good to look at the [now] famous Cheeky Watson. Before this balls-up in rugby at the moment, very few people could actually remember the antics of mainly Cheeky Watson and his brother Valance in the mid seventies. Why Cheeky takes more of the limelight is that he was a great wing who was at that stage very close to a call-up to the Springbok side. To make a long story short, he was asked to assist in coaching a
team in a black township and when he got roughed up for it, he joined the club. This put him in total contravention of the group areas act as he entered a black township after hours and also associated with them. He got beaten up and thrown into jail often, but remained true to his conviction, which lead to him being banned from SA sport. For most of the world he became a forgotten wing and only the people who were there in that area can still remember him – until now. (Photo of Cheeky Watson)The for Watson brother has since grown old and the days when they defied the regime has now paid off for them and they are very well connected in the business world. There is however one specific friendship which I feel had a huge influence on what happened to Luke now. That is a very tight friendship between Cheeky Watson and the Stofile brothers. The one is the vice president of SA rugby [a controversial figure himself] and the other is the ex premier of the Eastern Cape Province and now minister of sport. I am sure that it is this connection that has forced Luke Watson into the Springbok group and not any form or stature the player has. The comments that it is all about unfairness towards the player, is just a smokescreen.
Taking that into consideration means that the forced selection of Luke is not on merit, neither as a quota player, but plain and simple as a political choice due to his fathers’ background and connections.
I have no doubt that Luke will wear the green and gold this year, That decision has already been taken by the higher echelons in SA sport and there is nothing that Jake White or the selectors can do about it. If Cheeky Watson was given the honour of a Springbok jacket – which he probably missed out on due to his political stance – I will fully support it. I think Cheeky moved boundaries in South Africa in the seventies and needs the recognition for it.
The question I have, however, is when Luke gets his jacket; can he wear it with the pride it deserves? How must he feel knowing that his selection was not due to the will of the selectors, but rather due to politics? The same politics that possibly kept the jacket from his father will now in some strange reversal of fortunes become his. Will he be able to sleep well on that thought, I don’t think so.
At the end of the day, it is about a player who is undoubtedly very talented and although he is sometimes a bit of a loose cannon with his mouth, he should eventually force himself into the real squad with good play on the field. Let that do the talking and not his mouth or his fathers conections.
Mike Stofile, Vice President SARU
Rev Makhenzi Stofile, Minister of sport
2 comments:
THE VIEW THAT YOU PUT FWD IS A VERY GOOD CASE NOW THAT I UNDERSTAND THE COMPEXITY OF THE MATTER. However, do you not think, that if Cheeky dispised the Springboks so much, why then did he push for his sons selection. Would it not, in hindsight, been better for Luke not to play for the Springboks , but for possibly another international side like Basil De Oliviera did with cricket.
I agree with you. The story about this terrible hate of the Springbok is new. It has never before been about the emblem to them. I wonder why Luke did not vomit on his Bok jersey when he was selected to captain the SA under 21 side. No-one, not him or his father had anything to say then...Hansie
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