THE mauling of the national anthem by reggae singer, Ras Dumisani, has become the subject of a national outpouring of anger.
There can be no gainsaying that his singing was appalling, unprofessional and should never have been allowed.
Instead of standing shoulder-to-shoulder and choking back the tears as they silently pledged to win this one for Madiba, the Boks were left bemused and unfocussed.
Of course this affected them on the field as the emotional and psychological intensity needed for an encounter with the French in front of a massive chanting home crowd was clearly not there.
So, how did someone so palpably incapable get the nod to represent the entire country?
Clearly not enough attention was paid to this by the organisers of the game or the Springbok rugby management.
According to one story, it was the South African embassy in Paris which recommended Ras Dumisani.
If this is so, it is evidence of how political choices deliver poor outcomes in sport and the arts.
On the upside, as was cleverly observed by journalist Gus Silber on twitter yesterday, it is a mark of how far we have come as a nation that the Springbok players are critical of poor singing of the anthem.
Perhaps we should laugh off the anthem debacle and ask ourselves the much more serious question: Are the Boks burning out due to over-scheduling.
It is not possible to sustain a high level of performance without substantial recovery time and a decent off season. The Bok players are looking jaded. When they get back from this tour they will have two weeks rest and then its Super 15 action. Not good.

Related posts:

1. SA Embassy in Paris on nutty rasta who sang anthem – full text
2. Mbeki represents us all at the World Cup final
3. The Boks and race: The final word
4. Craig Dowd must apologise to Peter de Villiers over Springboks
5. Kader Asmal’s very good point is lost in the sound and fury