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JOHANNESBURG - The Springboks were accused of blowing the chance of spreading rugby among South Africa's black population by scrapping plans to include the biggest township on a World Cup victory parade.
SA Rugby, already under fire over the lack of black players in the Springbok team, said it had had to strike Soweto off its list of venues because of time constraints although the team is still scheduled to tour all the major cities.
"Unfortunately, while that was the initial plan, the parade does not include Soweto," SA Rugby media manager Rayaan Adriaanse said.
"It's simply a matter of logistics and time constraints. We would have liked to go to possibly the entire country but with logistics it's just not possible."
The win over England in Sunday's final has renewed debate about the racial make-up of the Boks who included only two players of colour in their starting lineup and the Soweto visit was seen as a significant public relations gesture.
Dali Ndebele, director of the Soweto rugby club, said the Springboks had "missed an opportunity" to promote the game and boost the morale of young black players who had been ecstatic at the team's achievement in France.
"Young kids who play rugby, and even those who don't, were very much looking forward to welcoming and seeing the Springboks in Soweto," Ndebele said.
"Already we had made plans about how we were going to welcome them. Our sponsors had banners ready, songs were composed.
"It's a big disappointment to us, sponsors, the kids, and the community who rallied behind the team. It's a missed opportunity to celebrate with the real masses."
After arriving back home on Wednesday, coach Jake White said the Springboks must learn from the "mistakes" that followed the first World Cup triumph in 1995 which they failed to use as a springboard to make the team more representative of the country's racial mix.
- AFP
