Saru slammed over Beast issue
12 Nov 2009
Makhenkesi Stofile’s Sports Ministry has accused Saru of poor administration regarding their handling of Beast Mtawarira’s eligibility.
On the weekend news broke that the Zimbabwe-born Mtawarira was in danger of missing the year-end tour if the Sports Ministry weren’t satisfied with the reasons that a foreign national had been selected for the Springboks. Mtawarira has played 19 Tests and toured with the Boks to Britain last year, as well as Australasia this year and in 2008.
Saru asked Stofile to help expedite Mtawarira’s South African citizenship – and while the prop will start Friday’s Test against France – Stofile slammed this move.
‘This request to have the Minister use his position to have the process of securing permanent residence and subsequently, citizenship expedited ahead of the year end tour in Europe, has exposed our sport administrators’ clear disrespect or lack of understanding of our laws,’ the ministry said in a statement.
‘Talented as he is, Tendai, like all foreign nationals plying their trade in South Africa, is bound by the laws of this country. The migration laws of our country are clear on issues relating to permanent residence and citizenship. We expect our sport administrators to understand and respect legislation that regulate their business. None of the athletes, sport codes, or federations can be bigger than the country.’
The Sports Ministry also questioned whether Mtawarira is that much better than other looseheads in the country to gain the special treatment that allowed him to tour.
‘While Tendai is a live wire on the field of play, the question is whether it is, in the first place, justifiable to say he has scarce skills – the rationale that would have enabled him to obtain the current work permit. If we go the route our rugby administrators are requesting us to take, and facilitate the fast-tracking of Tendai’s citizenship, what would this say to all rugby players in our country? We cannot as a government department responsible for sport and recreation in this country, afford to insult our players like this,’ added the statement.
Mtawarira debuted for the Boks in 2008 after completing his three-year residency.
‘The principle here is clear: Only citizens of our country can play for our National team, irrespective of the sport code. Therefore, no foreign national can play for any of our national teams, no matter how outstanding they may be. If any player in any code is to become a South African citizen, this has to be done within the legal framework of our country.
‘Federations, provinces and clubs, are more than welcome to approach us for advice on similar issues, instead of trying to slip a player through the legal framework.’
Saru responded by saying they would not comment on the Sport Ministry’s statements.
96 Comments
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12 Nov 2009, 09:40 am
Suppose they do have some good points.
12 Nov 2009, 09:42 am
Fair enough – seems this is a SARU problem ultimately. Just when it looked like their house was in order…
12 Nov 2009, 09:45 am
Stofile ….. the guy who said it will be the 3′rd world war about the Semenya saga …. while he’s army is striking….
Lee blikke maak die meeste lawaai!
12 Nov 2009, 09:46 am
I think SARU made a hash of this entire process. However, how did ‘foreigners’ like Bob Skinstad and Corne Krige play for the Boks in the past? (Unless they had citizenship of course, I don’t know).
In any case, this may be a blessing in disguise. Beast has played a lot of rugby this season and I think his level of play has gone down slightly as a result. The break will do him good and he will return a rejuvenated player come the Super 14.
12 Nov 2009, 09:47 am
my comment is awairing moderation?
And this is what i wanted to say:
Stoffie ….. the guy who said it will be the 3?rd world war about the Semenyaa (had to change the name) aga …. while he’s army is striking….
Lee blikke maak die meeste lawaai!
Let’s hope they don’t block this one.
12 Nov 2009, 09:48 am
aaaaaag comment still moderated………
12 Nov 2009, 09:48 am
At least SARU did not try and slip a man into a womans event.
12 Nov 2009, 09:53 am
ahh its seems we cnt go two weeks without controvesy in Sarugby.
we are so tired of stofile person first u wanted the bok removed then u forced(we know u did ) PDv to pick **** qouta players to get us embarrassed by Leicester now you want the beast to be removed from the squad .honestly what did the springboks as a team ever do to U????????/
12 Nov 2009, 09:54 am
Your comment is awaiting moderation. Aaaag Snot man!
12 Nov 2009, 09:54 am
#7 Sonito: Eina!
12 Nov 2009, 09:56 am
#5 Sonito: LOL! Surprised that wasn’t moderated!
12 Nov 2009, 09:57 am
#6 mbaxman93: It appears to me that this is not down to Stofile, it is down to the inept admin at SARU.
12 Nov 2009, 09:58 am
Die friggen n nommers is no so deurmekaar hier agv daai moderation……..
12 Nov 2009, 10:01 am
#10 jonnymain: Seems that way yes – Saru c@ck’d the dog again
12 Nov 2009, 10:02 am
There are two different issues here and I’d like to comment on the second one.
It’s futile for someone outside of the Bok camp to question whether Tendai is better than other looseheads in the country.
While fans and others can debate this until the cows come home, the fact is the Beast forms part of a front row unit- the members of which ply their trade together at all levels of the game.
PDV and co. have shifted Smit to 3 to accommodate Bismark at 2, and it makes a lot of sense for continuity’s sake to have Mtawarira at 1.
This Bok front row have been together for about a year now and it makes little sense to disrupt this continuity now.
The more they play together, the more formidable they will become.
12 Nov 2009, 10:03 am
It appears that SARU considers the residency period sufficient to qualify for Bok selection, regardless of whether you’re a citizen or not. I wonder if this applies in other countries, as well? It certainly doesn’t in England, and Australia also has a 3 year residency rule to qualify for citizenship.
12 Nov 2009, 10:06 am
oh F..OFF Stofile. Are you seeking attention again??
Go and do something meaningful, like resolve the ASA/Semenya debacle, or get involved with the sorry state of our national soccer team.
Why wake up on the Beast issue now?
What a nob!!
12 Nov 2009, 10:09 am
#5 Sonito:
That is totally uncalled for. You a real *******!!!
12 Nov 2009, 10:12 am
I actually think its pretty easy to argue that he has a skill set that no other loosehead has. No other loosehead gets the crowd to chant there names when they get the ball. Thus he must have something that other players dont. Case closed!
Its simple SARu must put a ad in the paper stating that they are looking for a looshead prop for employment. He must be black, he must bench X, he must run the hundered in X and must be able to get the crowd to chant his name.
If nobody with the above qualifications applies for the job then it is proved he has a skill set that nobody else has.
12 Nov 2009, 10:13 am
The IRB, not Saru or the ANC, are the ones who set down the eligibility criteria.
12 Nov 2009, 10:13 am
#15 wpw:
Yeah I know.
12 Nov 2009, 10:13 am
#16 Sonito: LOL
12 Nov 2009, 10:15 am
So what is the bottom line here?
Can he play Friday?
What then?
This will be a tragedy if he is pulled on the eve of a Teat match!
12 Nov 2009, 10:17 am
why is the fault with saru?
wasnt it the sports ministry that snuck the new law in which made it more stringent than the IRB rules?
we have someone whose already played 19 tests for SA so why wouldnt SARU look to have his process fast tracked?
12 Nov 2009, 10:18 am
IRB regulations are
8.1 Subject to Regulation 8.2, a Player may only play for the senior fifteen-aside
National Representative Team, the next senior fifteen-a-side National
Representative Team and the senior National Representative Sevens Team
of the Union of the country in which:
(a) he was born; or
(b) one parent or grandparent was born; or
(c) he has completed thirty six consecutive months of Residence
immediately preceding the time of playing.
Beast has been in SA longer than 36 months so he should be eligable.
12 Nov 2009, 10:18 am
#20 grant10:
I think he will definitely be pulled from the ‘teat’ match!!
12 Nov 2009, 10:20 am
#22 Leonidos: didnt beast move to SA straight after high school? Thats well over 6 years ago…surely that’s long enough?
12 Nov 2009, 10:23 am
#20 grant10: bottom line is he is playing on friday
12 Nov 2009, 10:25 am
#21 Papoose: Yeah, that is the SA govt. all over. SA sports undermined by having players snapped up all over the globe by other countries and we have extra hurdles put in place for the rare few who go the other way.
12 Nov 2009, 10:25 am
#23 wpw: LOL…Sorry!
12 Nov 2009, 10:26 am
#25 Papoose: cool
12 Nov 2009, 10:26 am
#24 flanka: as far as I know he went straight to the Sharks academy. So as far as I understand it he is eligable under IRB regulations, the issue is if he is under South African law.
12 Nov 2009, 10:26 am
#22 Leonidos: yes but the problem is the new sa law which relates to the sports ministry overrules that one
it makes it more complex cos the thing is the IRB have that stance so they can expand the sport that is rugby,
those regulations dont actually make that much sense when u think abt it but this is why so many players born elsewhere end up playing in a world cup for different teams like US and even England
12 Nov 2009, 10:32 am
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!
12 Nov 2009, 10:37 am
I hereby nobly propose to adopt the Beast.
12 Nov 2009, 10:42 am
Strangely, the IRB doesn’t make citizenship a requirement for the top tier countries.
12 Nov 2009, 10:46 am
#16 Sonito:
Excellent post.
12 Nov 2009, 10:52 am
This, for me is the interesting section of the ministrys’ statement.
“2. This request to have the Minister use his position to have the process of securing permanent residence and subsequently, citizenship expedited ahead of the year end tour in Europe, has exposed our Sport administrators’ clear disrespect or lack of understanding of our laws.”
From this, it appears that Tendai never had permanent residence, only temporary. If this is the case, then the IRB regulation of 3 years permanent residence wouldn’t apply.
12 Nov 2009, 10:54 am
The question that actually needs to be answered is the timing of the issue… Beast was allowed to tour to NZ, and Australia, for the Tri Nations, and play against the BIL’s as a Springbok, so what has changed??
Why did it take our “painfully pedantic” government” 18 months and 19 test matches to realise that te player isn’t a SA citizen…why wasn’t the issue resolved when the player was 1st selected against Wales in June 2008???
Blame SARU? What a cop out!! If the wankers in government had raised this issue last year, then the Beast wouldn’t have played 19 test already, and we won’t be again embarressed internationaly, prior to a crucial test!!
Ineptness!!
12 Nov 2009, 11:00 am
Citizenship is NOT an IRB requirement and it has never been.
And eligibility rests 100% fully and finally in the hands of the IRB and nobody else.
12 Nov 2009, 11:06 am
Blame it on Racism, the standard Sth African default option.
12 Nov 2009, 11:07 am
Funny isnt it. Lots of fingers pointing from Sth Africa about other teams including ‘imports’. And now this.
12 Nov 2009, 11:26 am
why now suddenly….funny how the sports ministry “didn’t want to get involved” in the Caster saga but is quite happy to **** its leg n saru on the eve of the eyot…
12 Nov 2009, 11:35 am
this is ridiclous, zimbabwe borders SA, they played rugby in the south african currie cup for ages, they’ve produced some of SA’s best Boks including Ray Mordt.
Bollocks he is southern african and a helluva lot more viable than half the other imports going on.
12 Nov 2009, 11:49 am
That the IRB does not require “citizenship” as a preprequisite to represent a country at test level makes pefect sense. Just think, there is no such thing as “English” citizenship, or “Welsh” citizenship, let alone “Scottish” citizenship. They are all citizens of the United Kingdom, not their respective nations. They qualify on the “residency” ticket to play for England, Wales or Scotland. At least, I think so.
No doubt, the new SA requirement for citizenship will be struck down by the IRB, or else SA may be expelled from the IRB and all affiliated events.
12 Nov 2009, 12:13 pm
Why should SA be expelled? Why can’t we make out own laws on how foreigners are able to represent this country in sports. We have a right as a country to make whatever laws suit the people of this country. The IRB made those eligibility rules considering what David has said and our government ours as a Sovereign Nation(sounds like Mugabe there..lol).
Cheetah Champs, when was this put into law? This could explain why it has not been sorted out…
12 Nov 2009, 12:21 pm
#42 Xavier:
There is nothing that stops the Beast playing as far as the IRB is concerned.
If some minister is looking to get the attention for himself by questioning why a non citizen plays for the Boks, that’s another story
Why it came so late in the game is a speculation
12 Nov 2009, 12:26 pm
Isn’t the government always going on about how the national teams should represent the make-up of the nation? Doesn’t Beast represent the enormous number of Zimbos who have fled to SA TO escape the savage government which the ANC endorses? Put him in, with a Nigerian drug dealer, for good measure. That’s representation.
12 Nov 2009, 12:27 pm
An elegant way to rid of the Beast before he spoils the broth against Marconnet and Co?
Rugbywise it’s a good riddance, the Beast should never been there or in the Sharks team (4 turnovers against the Cheetahs in 10 minutes at the CC Semi Final) at the first place, but, the way the story evolved it smacks of someone settling a score.
12 Nov 2009, 12:28 pm
#43 Kritik:
In the UK it’s determined by country of birth or parents birthplace, with some unions fighting it out with the players who qualify for more than one country.
#41 cab:
Are you looking for a B&LI type arrangement for Southern Africa?
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