Deputy Chairperson, even though rugby was brought to this country by murderous British colonialists, it took on a development of its own and became deeply embedded in the culture and imagination of our people, particularly those who were among the first to come into contact with colonialism.
Over the past 200 years, the culture has become so strong that, despite the many years of subjugation and marginalisation of black talent and deliberate attempts by Afrikaners to claim rugby as their own sport, our people have persisted and, against all odds, made it to this team. These talented players had been deliberately shut out of the system while a small minority of Dutch origin sought to monopolise the sport.
It is against this backdrop that we salute the brave efforts of this new generation of black rugby players who have broken all systemic
barriers against their progress. We salute Siya. We salute Cheslin. We salute Makazole. We salute Lukhanyo Am, Bongi Mbonambi, Elton Jantjies, Tendai Mtawarira. We also salute Aphiwe who we believe was strategically excluded from the game. They played valiantly in a team that included the racist Eben Etzebeth who stands accused of having assaulted black people merely because they are black.
It is because of these circumstances that the achievements of these black players stand monumental. They achieved this with known racists among them as their counterparts. May they live long to see rugby fully transformed in this country, and bring many more other trophies to this country. Thank you. [Applause.]