And the article you refer us to states:

“The key word is “suitable” and it raises an awful lot of questions. That’s because the sporting codes of this country are awash with foreign nationals, the vast majority of whom could hardly be described as indispensable. That being the case, dozens of PSL soccer players should be on the next plane home, not to mention the current coach of Bafana Bafana, who falls under the definition of “administrators or support staff”.

If Saru has to justify picking The Beast, it could make out a far better case than Safa could for Carlos Parreira. That’s because the sport of rugby union specifically singles out the front row of the scrum as an exceptional area requiring highly trained individuals. The laws now insist that if a prop or hooker is injured in the course of a game and no suitable (that word again) replacement remains on the bench, uncontested scrums will occur to minimise the chance of injury.

Safa might argue that Parreira’s coaching expertise is not replicated by a South African national, but it would be hard pressed to justify the appointment of Joel Santana on the same basis. In the words of the department’s press release, “the concept ‘scarce skills’ was vulgarised”.”

“There is no law or regulation of the country or SARU stating one has to be a citizen to play for South Africa.”

Dead wrong, Mhambi it appears you were. The November 2007 amendment to the National Sport and Recreation Act, 1998, states:

http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-11-20-a-beastly-affair-for-sa-sport

Who cares? Its rugby!

You should try and keep the issues separate.

One issue is whether players are chosen not on merit but on race.

We can debate that. Me personally? I’m against race based selections.

You could for instance easily argue that Beast is not the best loosehead scrummager in the country. I’d agree. The Curry Cup semi proved that convincingly.

But you could also easily argue that he is one of the most mobile props. And if you have a good strong tighthead (which we don’t) having a mobile loosehead can make rugby sense. If Beast was chosen only because he is black then for me it would be an issue. I don’t think in his case it’s that clear cut.

That is one issue.

The issue here is a different one though.

The IRB does not require citizenship, but merely 3 years of residency. Neither have we required that up until now. It seems dodgy, arbitrary and spiteful to say the least.

I will proceed from the premise that the Beast is not barred from playing for the Boks night without admitting the veracity of same.

Kindly let me know;

On what basis must the Beast play for South Africa tonight? Merely because he is not barred or is it because we do not have South African (as opposed to Zimbabewan) rugby players who can take his place and perform equally if not better for the SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL team?

Like you said Prof Tendai may be considered as possessing ‘extra-ordinary skills’ so what then is the problem! MInister is within his right but I can’t help but wonder about the motivation of his decision! It seems there is more here than what meets the eye! Guess will have to see how it plays out in time!

This is clearly just another attempt by Stofile to tell the national sports organizers what he wants them to do and what not. In other words, political meddling into the affairs of sports – which is illegal in terms of the rules of international sports organizations.

Just look what happened in the Caster Semenya saga – in the end, the ANC sitting with egg on the face because they first believed Chuene’s lies (or failures to disclos), and entered into one heluva furore that the international athletics org is being racist, anmd sexist, and everything that is bad. Politicians should keep themselves and their petty politics (and yes, in sports I believe requiring TRANSFORMATION along racial and gender lines is nothing but petty politics, with political goals that have nothing to do with the goal of sport, which is to excell and, if possible, to win competitions) out of sport.

I think Solidarity and others have long ago made the point that, if transformation and national politics are forced upon national sports organizations, those sports organizations could be banned by the international bodies from participating. Is this what Stoffie really wants? If so – he is certainly a stupid, self-serving man.