A lot of the off-field focus ahead of the Springboksâ Rugby Championship clash against the All Blacks this week has been about the amount of support New Zealanders enjoy in Cape Town.
The All Blacks and their Super Rugby teams have always enjoyed good support in the Mother City, especially in the coloured communities.
It largely stems from the Apartheid years, where they were looking for an alternative team to support instead of a racially segregated South African team, which only allowed white players to play for the country.
Another reason is the style of rugby the All Blacks have traditionally dished up, which was/is more akin to rugby played by the old non-racial South Africa Rugby Union (SARU) teams.
But the make-up of Springboks teams remained the biggest reason, as the slow pace of transformation after Apartheid ended saw many supporters staying committed to the All Blacks instead of the country of their birth.
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Transformation was never properly addressed at the Springboksâ level, with the Springboks playing the odd wing or two as the only player/s of colour in the team for a long time.
But in 2018, when Rassie Erasmus was appointed coach of the Springboks, he addressed in the rather large elephant in the room. He tackled transformation head-on, adding it to his priorities as part of the Springboksâ re-build.
Before Erasmus, Bok coaches neglected transformation, which led to the perception that black players weaken teams. It gave racist keyboard warriors and social media trolls ammunition to think that white players had the divine right to play for the Springboks and black players were just there to fill the numbers.
But Erasmus changed the game with his openness and honestly. He speaks about transformation not as a burden, but as an opportunity to unlock the rugby-playing potential that more than 80% of the population has to offer.
Over the last six years Erasmus has opened the door to black and coloured players to shine, and the result of that has been back-to-back Rugby World Cup titles. He also picks players who are small in stature, but play with a big heart and lotâs of skill. In the past, Bok players were picked because of the size of the calves ...
The Springboksâ depth is now the envy of the rugby world. Ebony and Ivory, big and small, playing together in prefect harmony.
Captain Siya Kolisi, who was appointed by Erasmus in 2018 to lead the Springboks, on Friday spoke about Erasmusâ man-management skills. And how the coach managed to get the best out of him as a leader.
"When I became captain, Rassie knew I was going to struggle at the beginning because I was shy and scared,â Kolisi said.
"I'm growing and everybody else is growing, and now we have so many leaders in the team."
Kolisi says in the past there was no communication and no pathway for black players to gain confidence in the Springboksâ spotlight.
Now the players and assistant coaches know exactly where they stand with the coach in regards to their different roles in the team.
âYou can't just put people in and when they have one bad game, and you never see them again,â Kolisi added.
âThat's what happened in the past and we're well equipped, with the guy next to you knowing that you're not just here because of your skin colour.
"You've worked hard, and you've earned the respect, which is something this management team has done differently.
"They've been open about transformation whereas, in the past, it was hidden. You didn't know where you stood. Honesty is very important for every player, and as a player, you don't wonder and you buy into it."
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Erasmus and Kolisi have transformed the heart of the Springboks, and now, on Saturday afternoon at 5pm, the captain and his charges want to change the hearts of those who still support the All Blacks
"This game is big, especially here in Cape Town and there are a lot of people who support the opposition.
"We understand that history and the great thing this that the coaches explain to us as to why they support elsewhere.
"If we win on Saturday, we'll turn one or two more supporters over onto our side, because we're partly the product of what other people fought for.
"We're progressing and we understand why they'll take time to change."
@JohnGoliath82
IOL Sport