Transformation in rugby has come a long way since Chester Williams made history as the first black South African player to star in a World Cup final in 1995. Yet race-based quotas remain substantially as important to transformation in rugby as they were 23 years ago.
The rise of black superstars like Tendai "Beast" Mtawarira, Elton Jantjies and Bryan Habana — and commentators like Owen Nkumane, Ashwin Willemse, Gcobani Bobo and Xola Ntshinga — to the higher echelons of the game, on and off the field, has masked the general malaise surrounding rugby in South Africa: it is regarded as a white sport in the black community.
Yet the biggest move made to transform rugby in the past few years has nothing to do with quotas, in all honesty.
The elevation of Siyamathanda "Siya" Kolisi to the post of captain of Cape Town-based Super Rugby franchise the DHL Stormers [and, on Monday, the Springboks] could have more of a long-term impact on change in rugby than quotas have had since Francois Pienaar lifted the Webb Ellis Cup at Ellis Park in front of 60,000 fans and an elated Nelson Mandela.
Kolisi — unlike his Springbok teammate, Zimbabwean-born Mtawarira — has a good story to tell South Africa. Although Mtawarira has earned 98 caps for the Springboks, built a great commercial brand for himself and gathered a cult following along the way, the tough and agile loosehead prop is not a product of transformation in any sense of the word.
So Mtawarira cannot lay claim to the experience of growing up poor and black in South Africa, or articulate the deep frustrations rural and township dwellers may possibly have vis-à-vis rugby as a former bastion of white privilege and exclusivity.
Only a smattering of black fans attend Super Rugby and Springbok matches in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban, amid frequent claims of race-motivated physical and verbal assaults going on unabated in stadiums across South Africa. Additionally, supporters feel let down by the South Africa Rugby Union (Saru), and bemoan the lack of investment in disadvantaged communities.
Who wants to suffer verbal and physical abuse all for the love of rugby, when soccer and cricket offer players and fans alike safe and hospitable environments?
Danville Felkers, chairman of controversial Eastern Cape All Blacks Supporters Club, says: "We have kids who want to play rugby, but their parents cannot afford to send them to [white] schools such as Grey High. Those who stick it out have to come to our clubs.
"In our suburbs, we are crying out for sport to give our teenagers something to do to keep them away from drugs and crime. Rugby can do that, but it hasn't because the system has let us down."
Additionally, the amplification of race-related onslaughts has made it harder for rugby to gain more ground in black localities. Who wants to suffer verbal and physical abuse all for the love of rugby, when soccer and cricket offer players and fans alike safe and hospitable environments?
Credible change in rugby should improve the uptake of the sport in disadvantaged communities, strengthen the competitiveness of Springbok rugby in international tests, and enhance diversity in the stands on Saturday afternoons. It will take more than quotas to assure parents in disadvantaged communities that black children have a role to play in the development of South African rugby.
So, here we are: race-based quotas are all we have for now — even though quotas are divisive and possibly unsatisfactory in nature. For instance, they gloss over the dearth in talent that is the result of innumerable fiascos for which Saru and its administrators in different strata of rugby have been responsible over the years.
If transformation had gone according to plan since 1995, quotas would not be required in 2018. However, there are not enough skilled players, coaches and administrators of colour in rugby at the moment to wish transformation away.
So quota-based selections will not cease to exist until South African-born players as successful as Mtawarira and Mujati are commonplace. And since the Springboks can only be as strong as their weakest link, South Africa will not sit atop the rankings of world rugby until everyone embraces transformation and gets it absolutely right.
That's why all eyes should be set on the ever-improving fortunes of Kolisi, both in and outside Super Rugby. Were it not for rugby — he got a scholarship to attend Grey High School — Kolisi could be a relatively poor man. If he did not have a big heart, his half-siblings — Liyema and Liphelo, whom he has legally adopted — would probably be languishing in an orphanage in Port Elizabeth.
Real change will begin when the spirit of transformation takes root and rugby crosses its final frontier: black apathy.
And if he did not approach life with remarkable gusto, he would not have married Rachel Smith, his white spouse. The Western Province flanker has become more than the leader of a world-renowned Super Rugby franchise: he has evolved into a quintessential cultural icon in South Africa — and further, a shining example of how rugby can extend the frontiers of transformation and produce leading South Africans from disadvantaged sections of society on and off the field of play.
Every rugby legend, player and fan has that one hero whose triumphs fired his or her passion for the sport. You cannot put a number to the masses of children in townships like Zwide that identify with Kolisi, and gather inspiration from his rags-to-riches story.
You cannot quantify the overwhelming sense of pride black rugby fans feel when an isiXhosa-speaking man who has lived through their struggles leads the Stormers on to the field of play at Newlands. You cannot put a value to the immeasurable impression Kolisi can make on transformation in South Africa, if various stakeholders in rugby handle his standing in the game prudently.
Transformation is more than a game of numbers: it is a titanic battle for the very soul of South African rugby — and a massive test of wills between old-fashioned gatekeepers in rugby establishments and forward-looking patriots who harbour an all-encompassing passion for life and humanity.
The whole country will appreciate change when quotas are no longer needed in rugby, and all and sundry feel they can watch rugby at stadiums across the country without the threat of violence and ill-treatment hanging over their heads.
Real change will begin when the spirit of transformation takes root and rugby crosses its final frontier: black apathy.
CORRECTION: This article has been updated to correct the name of Siya Kolisi's high school.