Monye and Obano put World Rugby to shame

As a year that has been like no other draws to an end, it’s timely to reflect on what needs to be done to ensure that rugby can continue to thrive.

- COLIN BOAG

In his recent Open Letter, focusing primarily on concussions, Sir Bill Beaumont chucked into the pot the claim that rugby is ‘open and inclusive’, and that’s not something that can go unchallenged. Without question, the game is more open and inclusive than in the past, but that’s not the same as Beaumont’s claim.

After it came to light that he had in the past posted racist and homophobic Tweets, the Argentinian Union first stripped Pablo Matera of the captaincy of the national side, and then without any proper investigation reinstated him. Surely World Rugby came out with a swift and crystal clear condemnation of these Tweets, and applied what pressure it could on the Argentinian Union to hold a full inquiry?

No, they typically sat on their hands until an Ugo Monye interview on BT Sport embarrassed them into belatedly issuing a vanilla statement deploring the vile sentiments expressed in Matera’s Tweets.

Monye succinctly summed up the affair with a damning comment that “Rugby wants to combat racism until it has to combat racism”! World Rugby’s subsequent statement showed the validity of his words. Benno Obano’s film