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JOHANNESBURG - Springbok team management have condemned the number of old South African flags that were on view during their tour of Ireland and England and upon their return home today.
The old South African flag, consisting of orange, white and blue stripes, was done away with after the demise of Apartheid, but several people were seen waving them during the Springboks' final tour match, against a World XV in Leicester on Sunday.
A couple of flags greeted the team's first black captain, Chiliboy Ralepelle, at Johannesburg's international airport on Tuesday.
The Star newspaper quoted Springbok team manager Zola Yeye as saying the flags had been "sadly prominent" in England and on their return home.
"It was embarrassing to see so many of the flags being waved around," said Yeye. "It seemed to us that these people are hell-bent on ignoring the strides our democracy has made, and where our country has gone. Just because they think that way, doesn't give them the right to make a public spectacle of themselves and our country.
"Look at this Springbok team. These are young men of 23 and 24 and they don't want to be subjected to memories of the Apartheid system. I would like to say to those people who wave the old flag, these men don't care about your political beliefs or your ideology. They want to play rugby, whether it be against black, white, brown, pink or whatever colour the opposition is."
The Star said two men waved the old flag at Ralepelle when he entered the international arrivals hall on Tuesday. The hooker told the newspaper he had not seen the flags.
The Johannesburg-based daily also claimed regular Springbok captain John Smit had been sworn at in Afrikaans after he refused to sign an old South African flag before the Springboks' second match against England at Twickenham on November 25.
Yeye also said that he had spotted a kiosk outside the Walker Stadium in Leicester, where the Springboks played the World XV, that had 20 of the old flags attached to it.
"I instructed the management at the Walker Stadium not to allow the flags in. Our national flag is our heart and soul, and these people are insulting the country and the constitution when they embrace the old flag."
South African rugby had a chequered history in the 1990s of fans waving old South African flags and has only recently made peace with the ruling African National Congress over transformation issues.
- REUTERS
