Many years ago, the then South African Rugby Football Union invited the media for a few drinks after a presentation.
Silas Nkanunu, the Sarfu president, walked into the room, pointed at my beer: “Where do I get one of those?” I beckoned to a waitress and pointed at Nkanunu. She walked to us in a rushed fuss. “How,” she asked Nkanunu, “did you get in here?” Nkanunu did not look much like a president. He certainly didn’t look eminent.
He is on Mbalula’s Eminent Persons’ Group whose report gave sports administrators a clip around the ears a week ago.
Nkanunu is short. His eyebrows were white and wild, his hair was fighting a losing battle with his scalp and his blazer sat on him reluctantly. The waitress thought he was a chancer, in for a few free drinks. She was about to shoo him out when we told her: “Better not do that. He’s the president. He’s paying for these drinks.”
Nkanunu was voted in as the first black African president of Sarfu on September 1, 1998, replacing Louis Luyt. A former president of the Eastern Province Rugby Union, he had been Luyt’s vice-president. He and three other black Sarfu executives had resigned in disgust over Luyt forcing Nelson Mandela to court to “be grilled about his decision to set up a commission to investigate alleged racism, graft and nepotism in rugby, the game Dr Luyt has been accused of operating like a personal fiefdom,” reported The Independent.
The powers of the Sarfu president were dramatically curtailed after Luyt’s reign, the position becoming essentially an honorary one. Honorary it may have been, but Nkanunu was not a quiet president. We interviewed him for the Sunday Indy shortly after he became president. Our headline was: “Silas is golden brown.” We got a few calls about that. He ripped the Springboks apart after they had lost to Scotland in 2002: “I thank the gods for my good health, because heaven knows that there is absolutely nothing about Springbok rugby to thank the gods for.”
In 2002 he was on a panel that interviewed four short-listed candidates for the Springbok coach’s job. They were Rudolf Straeuli, Rudy Joubert, Jake White and a certain Allister Coetzee. A mostly white panel chose Straeuli. Coetzee would have to wait 14 more years.
Nkanunu defended the Springbok after he was booted out of Sarfu in the post-2003 World Cup shake-up. In 2008, he told Die Burger: “You won’t be helping the transformation agenda by shooting the Springbok. The removal of the Springbok won’t change the fact that enough resources aren’t ploughed into the development of the game.
“Rugby is not being played in many black schools where it used to be the case. You can address transformation through support of schools and clubs. Government’s role should be to provide resources and facilities.”
Nkanunu added that he was worried about the state of Eastern Province rugby. That was eight years ago.
SABC reported that United, one of the oldest township clubs in Port Elizabeth, celebrated its 40th anniversary this week. Formed in 1976 from a merger of the New Brighton and Fort Beaufort Cricket Clubs and “has become a major force in EP cricket”, finishing fourth in the Eastern Province premier league this season. They are the club of Khaya and Gerald Majola, Robin Peterson and Allister Coetzee. Nkanunu was the club’s first president.
Nkanunu was made president of South African rugby almost 18 years ago. As he sat with the other eminent persons, what did he tell them of his time as Sarfu president? Did he admit he had failed to push through meaningful transformation? Did he rue the missed chance to appoint Coetzee in 2002? Did he confess that he was a weak - albeit weakened - president? Did he lament the failure of government to provide resources and facilities? Did he tell them he was powerless against white rugby administrators? Why, then, did he stay on for five years as a figurehead?
Dead man winning
The Big Book of Sports Insults has a small section dedicated to put-downs against Claudio Ranieri. All of them are from 2004, during his time with Chelsea. “TINKBOMB”, shouted the Sun’s headline on April 21.
“Alas, poor Claudio - you’re being sacked in the summer!” shouted Charlton Athletic fans at Ranieri, who replied, “No, I will be sacked in May.” Ranieri, a man not without a sense of humour, described himself as a “dead man walking”.
They aren’t insulting him anymore. - The Star