England rugby players disrespecting the south african president.?

Question

Why did half the England team walk past the South African president after the game without shaking his hand. (Jonny wilkinson was one of them). Are they that bad at losing. Surely if a South African person walked straight past the Queen without shaking her hand then the whole of South Africa would have been disgraced. Any one else see this? Opinions please

Answer 1

Good observation James. Yes, a number of them walked past. Was Thabo a bit on the small side? Or did the Bok jacket make him ignorable? Don't know.

But put yourself in their boots. You have just lost an extremely tense final. You are convinced you were robbed of a try. You are being paraded in front of the whole world while you would just like to get the bloody h**l out of there into the change room. You feel like a loser. You have been banged around the pitch by big men in green for 80 minutes. A little man in green at the end of an endless line of big men in suits, is just one sight to much for you.

But yes, someone who is a professional (even if it is a rugby player) should have the decency to do the right thing.

Answer 2

I wondered about that as well.  Perhaps they were just too psyched out or tired from the match?

Answer 3

I can't say i really noticed that, does seem a little rude though.

no offense but i didn't even know who he was. that just shows how bad my knowledge is.

Maybe some of the players were that disappointed with themselves they weren't really looking at what was around them, ie. the president!

Answer 4

I am a South African and to be honest I didn't notice the incident/s. Maybe the players just didn't know who he was! (I must say though he did lack the charisma and presence of Madiba and looked out of place amongst a team he wants to break apart as soon as they are back home.)

Answer 5

Who knows?  Maybe they are a bunch of ruffians.  Maybe the reporters just didn't show the full picture.  Besides, if it had been reversed, they would not have been able to shake the Queen's hands.  As  a matter of policy, she has to extend her hand for shaking first.  If she does not offer her hand to be shaken, you cannot touch her.