Rugby: Jake’s “racist” XV for Wales Test slammed by ex-Bok

Former Springbok coach, Jake White has caused a bit a stir in rugby circle’s by suggesting that incumbent, Rassie Erasmus put out a predominantly black team in his first Test in charge, and this did not go down well with former prop, Ollie Le Roux.

The Boks take on Wales in a once-off Test in Washington DC on Saturday, 2 June, with a three-match series against England beginning a week later – and White feels this makes for a perfect opportunity for Erasmus to make some headway towards achieving some transformation targets.

In his column on All Out Rugby, the man who led South Africa to their second World Cup triumph in 2007 wrote:

 “This team would serve the dual purpose of banking transformation credits to create selection breathing room for the England series, and would also give all of these players a chance to put their hand up on the international stage. Some people might see this as a throwaway selection but I would pick this team to win based on the fact that these players are good enough to battle the best of Australia and New Zealand almost every week during Super Rugby.”

Reacting to the suggestion Le Roux spoke to Netwerk24 and said, although he understood White’s plan, it would be following a “racist policy”.

“It is a very sharp idea when he says we should give more guys exposure,” he said.

“I understand what he wants to achieve, but there’s only one problem – the one team is white and the other team is black. What he’s actually saying is that the black team is weaker than the white one.”

Le Roux, a former teammate of Erasmus at both the Boks and Free State, added that there is a big enough pool of players available to the national coach for him to pick a side that is both representative and competitive.