The court bid to stop the Springboks from leaving South Africa to compete in the Rugby World Cup was abandoned in the High Court in Pretoria on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Judge Ntendeya Mavundla stood the matter down for the parties to have a discussion about transformation in rugby – one that would involve the broader community.<\/p>\n
This would enable the applicants to reflect and for other interested parties to engage “so that this issue of transformation would then be ventilated”.<\/p>\n
This meant the applicant, Tshidiso Mokhoanatse and his Agency for New Agenda political party, would no longer seek a court order to stop the Springboks from leaving the country.<\/p>\n
He had argued that Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula and the South African Rugby Union had failed in the constitutional duty to ensure the Springbok team reflected South Africa’s demographics.<\/p>\n
However, the debate about transformation must be sped up as people are losing patience, the high court judge said.<\/p>\n
“We need to hurry up. We need to move with determination, focus, so that there is less turbulence,” said Judge Mavundla in the High Court in Pretoria.<\/p>\n
“The matters of transformation have got that potential of people losing patience. You can already see at the University of Stellenbosch.”<\/p>\n
The matter was of national interest and the court was “highly sensitive” to this, he said.<\/p>\n
Mokhoanatse, of the Agency for New Agenda party, argued the team was too white.<\/p>\n
Mavundla said the “transformation wheels” were grinding very slowly and that he had no grudge against “our white compatriots”.<\/p>\n
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