Lucky on Monday: Never fear. Rugby will survive even the most rampant of egos

Lucky Sithole

In 1956, Tom van Vollenhoven, the man they called Vollies, went from being the hero of every rugby loving South African schoolboy, to being an outcast that people spoke about in hushed whispers. 

After only seven tests for the Springboks, he committed the cardinal sin of leaving South Africa to play professional rugby for St Helens in then Lancashire.

The ire of the rulers of rugby knew no bounds.

Danie Craven of Western Province, who blew up like a bullfrog even when he wasn’t offended, decreed in his mumbling way, that Van Vollenhoven would never wear a Springbok jersey again. 

To this day, Van Vollenhoven is a legend in the record books of St Helens, and rightly so, but the gods of SA rugby had made their point. Rugby, they maintained, would forever be an amateur sport.

Well, sort of forever, and sort of amateur.

In the 1980s, Naas Botha was paid handsomely, and more or less secretly, while playing for Northern Transvaal. Then he was a naughty boy. His try-out as place kicker for the Dallas Cowboys failed and he went to Italy and played for Rovigo. Talk about showing the middle finger to SA Rugby!

But Botha was too good and the kings of rugby had to back down. He played in the green and gold after re-admission to international sport.

By the time the 1995 World Cup came around, amateur rugby had become a total sham. Francois Pienaar, the golden boy who had led the Springboks to the World Cup, led the charge to professionalism and the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

So far, Rassie Erasmus has out-maneuvered World Rugby. From the video, leaked by persons unknown, to challenging the authorities to hold the disciplinary in an open forum, he has made the rulers of the entire rugby universe look like lumbering cart horses in a steeple chase – and, it is safe to say, they are not amused. The battle is well and truly joined.

But if you are wondering how much damage this bruising spat will cause, never fear. That great contest that we call rugby, has always survived the attack of the egos, and it is safe to say that it will survive this battering as well.

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