By making the Springbok team too white, black South Africans were being alienated from the sport and the team, which was divisive for the country, former Springbok coach Peter de Villiers said in an internet radio interview.

“We have to know what country we’re living in, and at the moment we’re turning a lot of black people against us by making the team white,” he told Ballz Radio earlier this week.

De Villiers did not want to comment on the Springbok team’s recent performance, as he said he had not watched the team lose their match against the All Blacks 21-11 in Dunedin, New Zealand last week, Beeld reported. 

“People don’t want to talk [about race], but I have to... we’re breaking up the country, and damaging a sport that we all love,” De Villiers said.

He did not want to comment on current Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer’s selections for the team, but said that the best players should be sent onto the field.

“I don’t want to comment on his team selections, but I do know that you can’t keep doing the same thing and expect different results.”