South Africa coach Heyneke Meyer denies race accusations
Thursday 13 August 2015 11:28, UK
South Africa coach Heyneke Meyer has denied claims he favours white players in his team selections.
Former Springboks coach Peter de Villiers strongly criticised Meyer’s selection and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) called for him to be sacked earlier this week, branding the coach "racist" and saying it had received complaints from several players.
De Villiers, who was the first black Springboks coach and led the team from 2008 to 2011, wrote a column for timeslive.co.za criticising Meyer's decision to drop Cornal Hendricks and play Jesse Kriel out of position last weekend to accommodate Jean de Villiers on his return from injury.
"That decision took the country back to the late Eighties, when blacks supported the opposing team because of apartheid," De Villiers wrote.
The team Meyer named to face Argentina in Buenos Aires on Saturday includes four black players - Bryan Habana, Zane Kirchner, Trevor Nyakane and Lwazi Mvovo - in the 15.
"I don't look at colour, I look at the best players," Meyer was quoted as saying in The Times. "I'm totally committed to transformation and I have a great relationship with my players. A lot of them came to me and said, 'Coach, it's not true what's in the papers.'
"We're all South Africans and we're all there to do the best for our country. We have to back each other in this country as players. The most important thing for me is to keep my integrity."
South Africa have suffered four successive defeats, beaten 37-25 by Argentina at home last weekend. Two black players, Habana and Tendai Mtawarira, started that match with three more on the bench.
In a lengthy statement on Monday, COSATU highlighted what it called the "privileged position of white players" and singled out the example of Jean de Villiers, who had been sidelined since November 2014 after suffering a dislocated kneecap and multiple ruptured ligaments while playing against Wales.
"Any other player anywhere else in the world would have to play himself back into the team after such a long absence, yet he gets to just walk back into the team, when he is clearly not the form player," the statement said.
South Africa have been drawn in Pool B for the upcoming World Cup, and will face Scotland, Samoa, Japan, and the United States.
