Boks face legal threat
The Agency for New Agenda party will seek an urgent court order compelling the South Africa Rugby Union and sports department officials to surrender their passports to prevent them from travelling to England for the Cup.
At the same time the party is seeking a judicial commission of inquiry into the lack of transformation in South African rugby.
Its leader Edward Mokhoanatse says the party is doing its 'public duty to defend our Constitution and to consign to the rubbish bin of history all vestiges and remnants of racial bigotry, racial exclusion and discrimination'.
This comes after earlier comments from the South African Trade Union Federation applauded the World Cup selections and claimed the Springboks side was 'the most representative team that has ever been elected'.
The Federation claimed that as a 'victory for workers and a victory for transformation in rugby in South Africa. This is a move in the right direction'.
But the Agency for New Agenda said there were some in South Africa who resisted transformation and continued to practise activities that were based on race and discrimination.
The Springboks were 'racially exclusionary' and biased in favour of whites, it said.
The Minister for Sport, Fikile Mbalula, was also criticised for failing to transform rugby and any SARU claims justifying its failure to transform the sport should 'be treated with disdain'.
The Agency for New Agenda Party has also called on World Rugby to take a stance on the issue to condemn the ongoing exclusion and 'marginalisation of black South Africans from the national team'.
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer said when announcing the side that he had met the minimum quota of 30 percent for transformation by including nine players of colour.
One of those players, wing Bryan Habana said he supported Meyer.
"This is unfortunately something that is always going to be part of South African rugby. I'm fully behind Heyneke's standing in the situation and wanting to make this World Cup a successful one for South Africa," he said.
Habana said having been part of the 2007 winning World Cup side he knew the power the Cup had in uniting the country.
