Middle East & Africa | Race and rugby

Green and blacks

Should the national team reflect the colours of the country or its players?

Not representative

WHEN Nelson Mandela strode onto a field in 1995—a year after the birth of South Africa’s democracy—images of him wearing the green and gold of the national rugby team became a stirring symbol of his commitment to racial unity. His celebration of the World Cup victory of the Springboks that year before a crowd of mostly white Afrikaners prompted chants of “Nelson, Nelson!”

This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Green and blacks”

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From the September 26th 2015 edition

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