Div – No racial quotas for Bok World Cup squad

Springbok coach Peter de Villiers has dismissed any suggestion that there could be political interference in the make-up of his squad for the World Cup to be played in New Zealand in September and October.

It will be a happy departure from previous World Cup tournaments, where the naming of the squad was always followed by a head count of black players.

“There is absolutely no pressure on me to pick a certain number of black players for the World Cup,” De Villiers said.

“If it were the case, then I’d have failed as a coach in the past three years. I don’t have any obligation to any player to guarantee them a place in the World Cup squad.”

In 2007, then-coach Jake White had to fight to choose the 30 players he wanted to go to France and almost lost his job several times for not toeing the political line.

Four years earlier Rudolf Straeuli made selections based on race rather than rugby ability.

But De Villiers has never been put under pressure to choose black players.

“If players have failed on my list of requirements for their position, then they’re not going,” he said.

“Some of our great youngsters are fantastic in general play, but are they doing the right things for what their position requires?

“At the World Cup the focus will be on being the best in your position. I tell you now, the guys who go to the World Cup, both white and black, will feel worthy of their positions. They will all understand one thing; they are all going to represent our wonderful country.”

The World Cup starts in 100 days’ time and De Villiers has urged the public to get behind the team.

“The biggest role-player in rugby is the supporter, and since I took the job I’ve tried to turn the team from [being] inward-looking to [being] outward-looking and embrace the fans,” he said.

“For the first time, we are going [down] on our knees to ask the public to look inward and support us. I want the players to know they are going to New Zealand, not only for themselves and the Bok team, but also for the entire country.”

[timeslive]