Race and Rugby

As you may or may not know, the New Zealand national rugby team is called the All Blacks. Fran and are big fans of the All Blacks. They are very good, have a great tradition, and play an entertaining form of rugby. Occasionally I will wear an All Blacks shirt around Memphis and you can tell that some people don't know what to do with it. The team name comes from the all black uniforms the team wears (or a misprint from "they play like they're all backs" depending on who you ask), yet the immediate thought is that I am making some sort of racial statement.
However, race and rugby is still alive. Particularly in South Africa. Like New Zealand, the South Africans are rugby nuts. In many parts of the country it is considered the national sport. The Springboks are the one team that probably deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the All Blacks. But there have been issues.
South Africa couldn't compete in the first two Rugby World Cups because of apartheid and competition bans. They finally got through that, but questions have persisted. They have suffered through scandals involving players mistreating black players and have had various quota programs to insure black players make the squad.
The latest fiasco involves a guy named Luke Watson. Luke's dad was some sort of anti-apartheid fighter back in the 80s and made quite a few enemies in the rugby world. Luke is a great player, captain of his provincial team, and thought by many to be one of the best in the country at his position. Yet for a long time he got no where near the Springboks. Most folks put two and two together. The coach, Jake White (what a name for a guy in that spot), has claimed over and over that Luke is not selected because he is too small to play international rugby. You can decide whether to believe that or not.
Recently the Boks picked their team of 30 men and submitted the selections to the SA officials. The list came back approved with a 31st man. Luke Watson. The union tried to make it look like they weren't going to put up with any more of the bigotry etc. The most ironic part being that Luke eventually made the squad, but took the place of Kabamba Floors and exciting player who also is undersized. He also is one of the few black players on the team.
Thus I've gone to calling the South African team the "All Whites." (Sorry NZ soccer, I know that is your deal.)
New Zealand is an interesting contrast. They have added a lot of Polynesian talent over the years to the squad. Currently there are 6-8 guys on the squad who were born in Samoa or Fiji. They are a great example of bringing racial harmony to a squad and being the better for it. (This ignores however the problem of rugby rich NZ snapping up so many great players that could be playing for the relatively weaker Samoa and Fiji.)
I write about all of this because the issues of race and sport are interesting to me. What does SA do? Do they play weaker players just so that they have racial balance? From what I understand the black population is more interested in soccer, so there just aren't as many black rugby players as there are white ones. It isn't like NZ where the really talented Pacific islanders are everywhere. But then again, maybe the black kids aren't playing rugby because there aren't any black guys playing it on TV.
What about the US? Does it bother us when we have an all white team (I think ye)? does it bother us when we have an all black team (I don't think so)? I don't think anyone would care if USA basketball took no white guys. Why not? Because maybe the most talented team is all African Americans. However if I said the same of say the USA hockey team being white it would be racist whether it is true or not. Shouldn't we just let the best guys play?
The answer may lie in a society that wants to nit pick. We want to hang someone out to dry, because being critical sells papers and picks up an audience. SA is a case where White and the union have no good option. Include players like Watson and Floors and they are pandering to a political scheme. Don't include them and you are a bigot. It is all a big mess and will be for years to come.