Touring Russian rugby squad denied opportunity to play West Rand team by top rugby bosses

Sport touches the heart, not because of political undertones but because the scoreboard leaves no room for interpretation.

Welcoming foreign visitors to a competition is an exciting cultural experience with memories that last a lifetime. But Roodepoort Rugby Club and visiting Russian team, RC Lokomotiv Penza were denied this opportunity after a scheduled preseason match for March 17 was called off by rugby administrators. The decision was based on a lingering World Rugby decree that has banned Russian and Belarussian players from international competition since February 2022.

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Russian athletes have been demonised by international administrators of all sports in retaliation for Russia’s perceived aggression toward their Ukrainian neighbours, who are predominantly framed as the victims. As South Africa’s BRICS partner, the South African government has remained neutral on the Eastern European conflict, urging peace, while members of President Ramaphosa’s administration were in Moscow for a Russia-Africa conference this past weekend.

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Golden Lions Rugby Union (GLRU) General Manager, Pieter Visser, was asked questions via email on March 22 about the union’s stance of denying players a rare opportunity. Visser responded with emailed correspondence between GLRU and their amateur affiliates, which stated, “The South African (SA) Rugby Executive Committee decided that no Russian teams will be allowed to tour or play in South Africa. SA Rugby abides by World Rugby directives until they change their policy.”

SA Rugby was equally economical with its response to questions regarding political tensions overriding the sport’s greater message of unity. Andy Colquhoun, SA Rugby’s General Manager of Corporate Affairs, highlighted World Rugby’s February 28 2022 statement that read, “The full and immediate suspension of Russia and Belarus from all international rugby and cross-border club rugby activities until further notice.”
Colquhoun added, “I think this is all the context you need.”

The decision to ban Russian rugby, a nation who have since slipped from 20th in 2019 to 25th in the international rankings, comes from the very top. World Rugby Head of Communications, Dominic Rumbles, did not answer questions about political bias in sport, instead stating, “This is a domestic matter and not one for World Rugby. You will be aware that Russia is currently suspended from World Rugby.”

The issue may be a little more opaque, as when responding to a question about what sanctions unions could face should they host Russian competitors, Rumbles said “Just to be clear, that’s at the international level. What happens below that level is up to the national union and the applicable guidance from the respective governments.”

Some may find the actions of the Russian military unpalatable while praising Ukrainian resilience, but citizens are not always reflective of their governments.

“We want to start with a big thankfulness to all South Africans who were very welcome to us during the training camp,” said the General manager of RC Lokomotiv-Penza, Igor Barmapov.

“We had no idea that the match against Roodepoort would be cancelled until we came to South Africa, even though it hasn’t affected our training camp,” added Barmapov.

Continuing his response to their ostracisation, Barmapov said, “We had a good experience training at the local grounds, exploring the local culture of rugby and enjoying training with such good weather in your country. We are very disappointed that World Rugby is not giving us the chance to gain experience from the clubs in the world by banning our clubs from international matches, but we are keen for future fixtures against clubs from other countries.”

Caught in the middle while just wanting to do what they love, athletes have often paid the price for the actions of politicians under the guise of the greater good. Accepting the decision but lamenting a missed opportunity, Roodepoort Rugby Club President, Theuns Naude, concluded, “It is sad that the decisions of political leaders have an impact on sportsmen and women as well as their ability and willingness to play sports.”