GlassPearl.co.za/blog

By JP on Mar 9, 2009 | Reply

Abigail Abrahams,

Your article is a joke to say the best. Obviously your reporting skills are limited to “stating the obvious” and “insulting”.

“They went for the obvious, childish route and booed Luke Watson”. Are you kidding me??? Do you honoustly want to state here that if it was a Bulls player that made those statements that Luke made, and then went and played a game in CT, that Newlands wouldn’t boo the Bulls player then?? Only a person with limited intelligence will make such an idiotic statement.

“Hopefully they felt high and mighty after doing it.”???????? I think you should stop making silly statements because you are just proving to everyone how little you really know about the game. Newlands, as my last visit there proved to me, is much more vocal in their boo’s… much more so than any Loftus game I ever watched.

You don’t even deserve a response to this absolute rubbish you wrote here… why am I even wasting my time???

By Stormers fan on Mar 9, 2009 | Reply

I was in the crowd on Saturday. I am a staunch Stormers fan. I booed him along with all the Stormers fans sitting in my vicinity, black and white. And you know what, it felt good!

Abigail, while it is true that Luke and the rest of the country should stand by their beliefs, the man has made a mockery of it. First he says that he feels honoured to wear the green and gold. Then he says he wants to puke on it. So, which is it? He is an average player, nothing special. The only way he could get into the Bok side was to use Daddy’s connections to political allies from the good old days. Nepotism much?

And besides that, he should have absolutely expected to be booed and hassled the way he was on Saturday. He made an idiot of himself.

Rugby, while totally a white man’s sport (I’m female, does that make a difference?), has done more for this country on the whole than ever before, even releasing Nelson Mandela and unbanning the ANC. In 1995 when we hosted the world cup, who would have thought that there would be millions of people celebrating the day after we won? And who would have thought that many more white people would, on that day, embrace their black brothers willingly? Not many, but it happened. Rugby has levelled the playing field between the black, coloured and white leagues, all for the better. For Puke Watson to come and diss them all the way he did in his little speech…eish! And with his family’s political involvement under apartheid? What does that say about him as a person?

Not much in my very small opinion.

JP, he was booed at a home game at the beginning of the year at Newlands. The fans have a right to voice their opinions and sometimes the only way they can is to do what the crowd did on Saturday. And Abigail is right on one point, for once, the fans sank down to someone’s level. Luke Watson doesn’t deserve the loyalty of any rugby supporter.

By Stormers fan on Mar 10, 2009 | Reply

The speech he made, not so private. He should absolutely have expected the comments to be made public because of the controversial nature.

And yes, I do agree with you. He was totally on the high ground and booing in any national forum is not good sportsmanship from the crowd’s point of view.

Still, he should have expected his comments to have some kind of reaction from fans. Fans are like elephants, we never forget .

Strangely, though, his comments on that day seem to be something learned at his father’s feet. I feel sorry for him if all he did was spout off remarks he has probably been exposed to all his life…sort of similar to being brought up in a white household these days and still being taught that the K word is part and parcel of life.

By Piet on Mar 10, 2009 | Reply

hey luke got what he deserved, dont compared Geo cronje with luke abigail, Geo was droped out of the springbok squad and it was the end of his rugby basicly, luke kom niks oor, hy verdien om uit gehaal teword, abigail jy haat net afrikaners daarom wat jy luke se kant, toe luke die sharks verlaat het, was hy ook grootbek, ek onthou dit soos gister, hyt hulle sleg gemaak en baie goed tese gehad oor hulle, en die sharks spelers het nie van hom gehou, die sharks spelers is einlik baie engels so moenie jo bek rek omdat jy afrikaanse mense haat

By Stormers fan on Mar 10, 2009 | Reply

Abigail, then we agree to disagree on the private forum or not.

Piet, Geo Cronje se hele idiotiese manier van uit die Springbok span gegooi te word was sy eie keuse. Daar is GEEN plek vir ‘n speler wat ‘n rasis is nie. En ongelukkig kom hy van ‘n agtergrond waar gekleurde mense niks werd is nie. MAW, hy het gekry wat na hom toe kom, nes Watson nou. As hy maar net man genoeg was om verby Davids se vel kleur te kyk, so hy miskien baie beter gevaar het as Springbok. Die dae is lank verby waar rugby net deur wit spelers gespeel mag word. En as jy dink Luke Watson het niks oorgekom nie…die mannetjie sal seker nie weer in ‘n Springbok trui speel nie.

In this day and age to act like a spoilt little brat because you have to share a room with a coloured guy….get a f….life. Really.

Abigail, to come back to why people dislike Luke Watson, it could possibly have to do with the code of conduct Springboks are bound by. The part not to talk bad about the players and to bring the game into disrepute. It rankles quite badly with many that for a while there he said how proud he was to be called up to the Bok team. Then a few months later the comments about puking. If he really wanted to make a standpoint against a racist emblem, he chose a very bad way to make his point.

Couple that with his father’s interference in getting him into the squad in the first place and which many fans and pundits of the game took offence to…personally, I think he never stood a chance as a Bok purely because of the controversial inclusion and subsequent dropping due to injury. You don’t make a point of having yourself included and then do a total turnaround against the very sport you fought so hard to represent. Kind of two-faced.

It’s not a case of picking on him, I think it was just a case of the fans hadn’t voiced their opinion to him…this was his first game on the oh so not sacred Bulls home ground and their first opportunity to let him know just how distasteful they found his actions.

By lukeisnpoes on Mar 11, 2009 | Reply

Julle al 2 is maar net suurgat omdat die bulls gewen het. Dink julle rerig luke watson sal nie weer vir die springbokke speel, hy gaan nog kaptein word net waner die ANC heeltemal in sport is en die springbok verwyder is.

Luke watson is elk geval te kak om springbok tespeel, hy speel goeie rugby maar hys nie goed genoeg vir die bokke. tensy die ANC vlag op die trui kom

By Kobus on Mar 11, 2009 | Reply

KAk topic, luke got what he deserved, wouldn`t mind if he get ill and never can play rugby again

By Stormers fan on Mar 11, 2009 | Reply

lukeisnpoes – Glad nie suur nie, ou. Ek is ‘n Stormers en WP ondersteuner omdat ek in die Kaap grootgeword het en my bloed is WP bloed. Bulle is in elk geval nie my soort span nie, speel te vuil en huil soos babatjies as hulle uitgevang word. Sou veel eerder ‘n All Black of Aussie ondersteun voordat ek ooit in my lewe vir ‘n tweede rangse span skree.

By Stormers fan on Mar 11, 2009 | Reply

Abigail, newer breed of Springbok sings well enough but have a look at all the rugby playing nations…I think the only team that sings like they mean it are the Scots!

The anthem – in my opinion I think it’s time this country got one that signifies true unity instead of one where one paragraph so obviously is sung “vol bors”. It’s purely a throwback to the days of white rugby and a white anthem. Give it time, it will change. Maybe not in my lifetime or my kid’s lifetime, but it will change.

However, it will only change if the country at large wants it to change.

At the same time, also bear in mind that we do have a huge problem with politics mixing into sport in this country. I wish for once politicians, irrespective of their party affiliation, will step away from sport and leave it to the sportsmen and women to decide how it’s run in this country. Unfortunately, if players do not get field time, they will leave. Playing overseas is a huge attraction right now coupled with our horrific brain drain and the effect the world economy has on our poorly performing rand. It does however seem as if only white players are leaving at the moment and quite frankly, if Habana or any other player of colour decides to leave, I’d have no problem with it.

Someone once said, cannot remember who though, that a player has a limited life and if that limited life includes leaving this country for greener pastures so you can secure your future in overseas currency, then why the heck not. Retirement from rugby, like any other sport, comes earlier than it would if you were working 9 – 5.

Oh and I tottally agree, Stormers and WP have been playing crap rugby for a number of years now! But I really don’t care, I’ll scream myself hoarse for them for the rest of my life!

By Stormers fan on Mar 11, 2009 | Reply

Abigail, one more point.

Never liked the Kamp Staaldraad concept. If anything, it showed that the management at the time had a serious mental breakdown. Totally against any sporting code out there.

By Stormers fan on Mar 12, 2009 | Reply

Pleasure Abigail!

By Henri on Mar 12, 2009 | Reply

That article is written very one sided

You do not insult your “work” even in private.
At most companies it is in your contract about negative remarks against your company or competitors.

Same for being a springbok. So Luke’s excuse for saying it in private carrie no ground. Did the people attending sign a privacy clause… lol

Then before you insult the tipical loftus crowd, did newlands not boo Luke of his own field in in his home town.

This is not about stormers ,sharks or bulls. This is about a one nation springbok.

Yes Loftus went big on luke. Maybe because he called the afrikaans south african a dutchmen.
O and how rotten they are.

So Luke may insult people and then cries when he gets his own medicine back.

Shame on him. H started the insults.
Why dont he go play for what he believs in. He wont because its only about the money.

Be a man appoligise in public to the spingboks, the dutchman ext. admit you made a mistake as we are all human. And move on with your career. You play good rugby but i will not support you till you made an apoligy

By Patriot on Mar 12, 2009 | Reply

So Henri needs some serious spellcheck
just kidding mate,
On the point of Mr W and his remarks they probably were inappropriate and not well thought through, and he has hurt a lot of people with those type of comments but he’s always been someone for the limelight and maybe in some self-glorifying way he thought he was speaking for a lot of people who still feel hurt about apartheid and the impact it’s had on people’s lives, and also the lasting legacy it has left behind.
Stormers fan ‘Rugby has levelled the playing field between the black, coloured and white leagues, all for the better’ – I’m afraid my dear you’re living in a eutopia and you are sadly not aware of the division that still exists.I grew up on the Cape flats and many of the schools in my neighbourhood cannot compete with Paarl Gym, or Bishops – so in response to your remark how can you say the playing field has been levelled?
Paarl gym btw boasts coaches capable of coaching at provincial level, facilities that would rival or exceed some European clubs and a STAFF on hand to assist the coach…so you tell me how is a team from Gugs or Retreat gonna compete with that.
The reality is that there is a new kind of racism…and that is called affluence, only the wealthy(strongest) survive, if you can afford to send your kid to a good rugby school only then does his chances mardedly improve to cement a future in the sport; the rest unfortunately, no matter how talented you are, fall by the way side.

Some other guys on here are moaning about the ANC’s involvement in rugby; did your forefathers not meddle in sport during the good ol years, the NP was quite prominent in voicing their concerns with the elimination of black players in ‘THEIR’ team, so much so that in their arrogance they even banned touring teams from fielding black players against SA(eg maoris were not allowed to play against SA)
So the fact that politics was allowed previously in sport to the detriment of 70% of this population, the NP actually opened the door and created a precedence thereby allowing the current regime to apply corrective action to those bigoted and racially based laws.

In a nutshell, I’m a rugby lover cos what it would take for me to back this team would be a side representative of our population(which sadly I don’t see happening in my lifetime)

So Luke, my advice to you, shut your mouth(play your game and embrace the opportunity that you’ve been given, becos you’re much more fortunate than most)

By kobus on Mar 12, 2009 | Reply

Rugby? Gentlemans game? Christianity? Puking Judgment? Dutchman? Gentleman, Ladies & Children in stands? SORRY, LOVED THE GAME AND THE PEOPLE BEFORE– DO NOT WANT TO BE PART OF THIS FOOLISH UNGODLY MESS.

By adam on Mar 13, 2009 | Reply

Abigail,

You mention some interesting points. I supported the Bulls on the weekend, although I am a Sharks supporter. I can’t say that I enjoyed the booing that much although I fully understand the crowds reaction. You talk about freedom of speech and the fact that the statements made by Luke was in a private capacity. If we talk about freedom of speech then the debate on whether the statements were private or public actually should be counted as irrelevant. The statements were made by Luke and became public. Luke seems to stand by them. He has the right to say what he feels – I’ll give him that much. However, having accepted the springbok jersey Luke simply seems like a hypocrite for saying things like that afterwards, especially after he lost a lot of form and selection seemed unlikely. It is as simple as that. I only wonder if he would have said something like that if he was actually the best loose forward and selection to the national squad was a certainty.
Back to the freedom of speech issue. You are right. He can say whatever he feels like, yet the rugby supporters reaction should be seen as exactly the same privilege. When Luke Watson, an internationally known rugby player makes a statement like that he speaks to an international stadium. Whether he anticipated that his statements became public knowledge or not, it did. If he believed in what he said it should not bother him. The media focused on his dislike of the Springbok emblem and also on the “Dutchmen Issue”. What alternative does the Afrikaners have but to react vocally the way they did? Most rugby supporters are faceless people to the world. If a bloke from Pretoria said to a reporter that he is upset by Luke’s statements, only him and the reporter would have been aware of it. The booing, that Luke can expect around the country is merely their only effective way to exercise ‘freedom of speech’ on the same level as he did.
I disliked the booing, but only because I do not like any kind of bullying. Yet, Luke should, if he doesn’t actually like the attention, communicate with the media and explain himself better. Yes, he made statements afterwards, but he hasn’t really apologized for offending anyone.
I referred to Luke maybe enjoying the attention. What bothers me about Luke is that he portrays a self-rightious image of being the only white south african that did not support apartheid. My upbringing was also controversial, and I had an extreme liberal childhood. I never chose to be the martyr though. I am not sure what Cheeky did but understand he was a freedom fighter. It seems to me that Luke’s biggest mission in life is to continue the struggle and continue his fathers legacy. He must be weary as I think is achieving exactly the opposite. Let rugby be rugby, and politics be politics. Look at our sport institutions. Some of our most exciting talent coming through are players of colour. Things will sort themselves out. Sport is a business. If the talent comes from non white sources, then they will be given the opportunity. The proverbial saying says that the colour of money is green – not black or white, or yellow. The same can be said about the Springbok jersey – the colour is also green.
I personally think that on some level Luke enjoys the current situation. He is finally in his own struggle and it gives him some justification. He abviously has a fanbase from the people or communities he enjoys. But if his idea is to unite South Africans through sport, I am sorry to say that he is doing exactly the opposite!

By Patriot on Mar 16, 2009 | Reply

Hi Abigail

I agree with the mob mentality statement; it’s nothing more than a bunch of easily influenced people who can’t reason logicially for themselves and really just want to band together against what they perceive as being a common ‘enemy’.
A few ideologies come to mind that has been influenced by this type of mob mentality and groupthink; infamously Fascism, Nazism, Communism comes to mind – which really can be simplified into one or a few charismatic people influencing a bunch of sheep into thinking along similar lines as them no matter how skewed their thoughts are.
Organisational mindsets does not encourage individual thought but rather imposes ‘it’s’ beliefs on it’s members, therefore if you adopt an organisational mindset you unconsciously forego a part of your individuality which might normally question those type of principles of which you now become a part of.
Apartheid was no different to any of those ideologies mentioned above and the underlying basis on which it is formed is fear; if you can instill fear in people they will believe just about anything.
Furthermore the incorporation of apartheid into sport meant that SARFU embodied an element of racism, and I do not know whether those thoughts have been completely eradicated.
Optimists might hope that it has been, the realist might disagree.
The important thing to remember when dealing with opinions of any kind is to agree/disagree with the mindset or opinion of the individual or group and not make any personal attacks cos as we have seen above it’s very easy to impose your beliefs on others if the collective share similar views, but when you are a lonely voice in the crowd it’s pretty much guaranteed that you will become a target for accusation or disputation.

By Mark McCutcheon on Mar 23, 2009 | Reply

All i say is to hell with PUKE WATSON, if he cannot wear the green and gold jersey with the springbok logo imprinted on it, then he should go play in another country, my opinion that LUKE is not realy a great player, i dont realy know why everyone is saying he is a great player, he sucks “BOO EVERY GAME HE PLAYS”. There is many other black players in this country that is by far better than he is, BEE, they should get his position. “as ek LUKE in die hande kry, donder ek hom” …….. go SHARKIES

By Mark McCutcheon on Mar 25, 2009 | Reply

Abigail, Luke made so much mistakes while the whole crowd (including his own fans and family) BOO’d him, he made a total fool out of himself, i wish that this BOO’ing becomes a trend at every game he plays’, within a year he will leave rugby for good, even other countries should BOO him just for the fun of it, lets make a trend out of it (bring any funny puke Watson banners to every game Luke plays), and show future sports stars what happens to you when you shag you own country up the A $ $!!! Set an example of people like that…… LetsBOOLukeWatson.com

By Mark McCutcheon on Mar 25, 2009 | Reply

Abigail, MY comment regarding the change of the springbok emblem from left to right side of the jersey, I don’t mind where they move the springbok emblem, they can even place it on the BUTOX side of the shorts, wherever it is, that’s where I place my hand and sing the national anthem, I will still call them BOKS, and will forever do that, same as I call transvaal – transvaal, johanesburg – johanesburg, etc ect ect… … same as I will call coke – coke, even if they change the name to black water, I know it as what I have been taught and no one will change it, you cannot delete/change the past , only change the future, that’s why the word heritage was placed in the dictionary, if the government really wanted a protea rugby team, why did they not create one from scratch, and have there own protea rugby team, why come along and change our master piece and claim victory – - sad but weird…….