Neil Francis' anti-Springbok agenda
South Africa lifting the RWC 2019 Webb Ellis trophy
There has been a constant drone in the background this past week as the world celebrated the Springboks World Cup win and recognized it for what it was; triumphing in the face of adversity whilst standing shoulder to shoulder with people from different walks of life.
As the victorious Springbok team made their way from city to city in South Africa, hoisting aloft the Webb Ellis Cup to the deafening cheers of millions, the hum in the background grew louder.
The noise was similar to that of a mosquito flying around the ceiling of the room you are in, you can hear it, but there’s no need to stop what you’re doing to address it until it decides to take the ultimate liberty of trying to bite you. Well, this time around the mosquito is former Irish lock Neil Francis and his desperate murmurs need to be seen to.
In an extraordinary outburst, Francis has suggested that there be an asterisk beside the Springboks World Cup win because South African rugby is riddled with doping. That is a sentence you need to read a few times before it eventually sinks. Now, you have to be careful when giving strong opinions airtime because often these sensational remarks don’t deserve to see the light of day but this spiteful hissing from Francis is unbecoming.
Francis has based his argument on one isolated incident where youngster Aphiwe Dyantyi is facing a ban for doping but isn’t that proof that the system works? If it didn’t, Dynatyi would have been with the Springboks in Japan but he wasn’t. Instead, he was left to rue the life-changing consequences of his poor decision making.
It seems extremely unfair and possibly even cruel to paint an entire country with the same brush because of how one young player conducted himself. And whilst we're here, a word on forgiveness and the fact that young people the world over make mistakes all the time, are we now going to hold a country responsible for the wrongdoing of those finding themselves in the world?
In a week where 99.9% of people have been talking about Siya Kolisi’s rise from the dust of the townships to World Cup-winning captain, Neil Francis has decided to focus on a non-event. Francis’ issues with South Africa become all the more peculiar when you consider the Springboks didn’t even play the Irish in the 2019 World Cup so it hasn’t even been borne out of bad blood. Sadly it just comes across as sour grapes.
Maybe the big lock needs reminding that it is not South Africa’s fault that they have managed to win three World Cups whilst Ireland have never made it to a semi-final in their entire history.
It’s not just the Springboks that have come in for unjust criticism from Francis but also England after the retired player said that England’s thrilling win over the All Blacks in the semi-final was down to ‘luck and providence’. Few would disagree that England’s semi-final display was one of the best of all time as their quick-handling, electric pace and resolute defence stopped a team that was branded ‘unstoppable’ before the tournament started.
These comments have stirred the pot and added a bit more needle to the upcoming Six Nations next year. And as further proof of the ludicrousy of Francis claims, the Six Nations betting odds from Betfair suggest that England’s 2019 performances had very little to do with luck as they are the favourites to win it at a paltry 8/11.
Is Neil Francis the first ex-player to constantly come out with outrageous opinions? No, and he won’t be the last to either but his attack on South Africa paints him in a very bad light.
To question the legitimacy of a World Cup win from a country that has once again proved that we all have more in common than that which divides us is not edgy, astute or groundbreaking, and unfortunately only serves to embarrass the individuals who decide to do so.
