Former SA Rugby president Oregan Hoskins says players of colour will continue to be ‘thrown in the deep end’ as a result of the government’s transformation requirements.
In an interview with Eyewitness News, Hoskins said there was intense pressure around the subject of transformation, and suggested that politicians didn’t have an appreciation for the demands around the implementation of such targets.
As per the Strategic Transformation Plan that has been agreed to, there is an aim for 50-50 representation across all of SA Rugby’s structures, including the Springboks.
‘You’re going to see more and more players of colour thrown in at the deep end because of the government’s requirements and those players, sadly, are going to be embarrassed because they are being thrown in at the deep end and not being given a fair opportunity to develop themselves and that development can only happen when government plays its part,’ Hoskins told EWN.
‘Rugby is part and parcel of South African society [but] there isn’t a commitment on the part of government to genuinely tackle the development of the sport and it's all well and good saying that you should transform the national team and transform the franchise teams but that’s not going to work, it’s never going to work.’
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