yans says...

@APV1

look I haven't heard the Skinstad comments but you really need to understand that simply saying a supposed racist comment in public isn't in itself racist. Context, intent and understanding are fundamental to the situation. If he was unaware of the true meaning of the word then it is a malapropism, and therefore by definition cannot be racist in this instance

Posted 14:40 23rd April 2012

Celticspirit says...

Thank you ever so much, Richard/Planetrugby, for bringing up the horrific "footballisation" of the beautiful sport called Rugby football. I am shocked at the amount of times I hear booing before kicks, whcih is where it all starts really. But that a bottle is thrown at a Rugby game, even if it is the Bulls, probably the most likely place for such a thing to occur, makes me sick to the stomach. I took my girlfriend along to a Rugby stadium, Murrayfield for Scotland - England this year, for the first time. She said before the game that she was afraid of there being riot or at least some kind of (physical) violence in the stadium. At the time, I just laughed and assured her that this was not a football game and that even a Scotland-England game (one you dont want to experience in a football stadium) was absolutely and utterly safe, no reason to worry whatsoever. Now, I am sure this still holds true. But when I hear what happened at ("my very own") Murrayfield where I have never had any bad experiences - except for huge disappointments Rugby-wise - whatsoever, I wonder how much longer I will be able to say this in good confidence and conscience... I think it is time for some drastic measure, like banning people from a stadium for life, fines for booing etc. But most of all I would, in fact will, all by myself, start a campaign which I shall call: Wear the opponent's shirt. This can include swapping shirts for the day with another fan, one of the greatest gestures in Rugby. If enough people did this, it might reinstate the spirit of the game, respect, tolerance and even friendship. I just hope that someone will be with me on this (not necessarily the shirt-campaign) - for the sake of the game we all love.

Posted 13:44 23rd April 2012

BokAvenger says...

Oh pleeeaaaaseee!!! The anti-Saffa agenda at PR rolls on. Only Spiro Zavos is worse. Nut or Pip is a common SA term for your head - just like Aussies and Kiwis like to use the ridiculous term pill for a rugby ball. But even if his term Coconut tackle was not a reference to Nut (as in head) why on earth should a bizarre racist term in Oceania be known to South Africans? After all, Cocounut is a common term in SA for a black person who is trying to act white. ie. brown on the outside and white on the inside. And before PR brands me racist as well - it's a term mostly used by black people from the township to refer to other black people who have moved to the suburbs. There's even a TV series in SA called the Coconuts. But let me guess..in the eyes of PR that's racist too.

Posted 13:36 23rd April 2012

hayj05 says...

Regarding what Stinkad said, I think there's no point assuming either way because only Stinkad knows if it was a cover up or not.

Posted 12:31 23rd April 2012

Ben7 says...

I think this writer is just a little anti-south African

Posted 11:51 23rd April 2012

fozza says...

Only thing I would say about the Skinstad thing is I've never heard the term and wouldn't know it was offensive... but I live in Scotland so it's not too suprising I don't know it. Will need to bow to other people's knowledge.

Posted 11:42 23rd April 2012