Ken Borland

Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka this week announced she will be boycotting media conferences at the French Open next week, behaviour I think is most unbecoming. For the benefit of the many people who have harangued me for this view on social media, here’s why: She has a duty to help publicise the game that has made her the richest sportswoman in the world. I know TV coverage of her matches does that to a large extent, but the media conferences afterwards are like resales – they reach different markets and provide the opportunity for a more in-depth look at her performance, they provide the flesh on the bones.

The vast majority of sportspeople I have interviewed acknowledge that they have a responsibility to give back to the game that has given them so much, and that’s even the megastars. For any sport, the importance of marketing their product cannot be overstated and Osaka should perhaps consider the hefty prizemoney now on offer in women’s tennis and the media’s role in providing the exposure that attracts the investment of sponsors and broadcasters, as well as the eyes and ears of fans.

Sure, many press conferences are tedious affairs involving recycled questions; a bit like a 6-1 6-0 result in tennis. But the responsibility to fulfil media obligations is written in the WTA rulebook. And the WTA is actually the players’ organisation that runs tennis, so it is the players themselves who have agreed to these rules.

Except for Osaka, who feels the ground rules don’t apply to her. Perhaps she has become so famous and wealthy, ironically partly thanks to the exposure given to her performances and increasingly outspoken views on politics by the media she is now snubbing, that she believes she is special enough to operate under a different set of rules. The 23-year-old Osaka won’t be the first nor the last rich kid to lose touch with reality when incredible wealth is at their disposal.

Osaka’s reason for boycotting press conferences, according to her statement, was to protect her mental health. For a tremendous champion who has won all four of the Grand Slam finals she has appeared in, the suggestion that she has a fragile temperament floors me.

Sure, some questions asked at tennis press conferences range from the idiotic to the extraordinary to the downright disgusting, but they are easily handled by a “no comment” or by the facilitator exercising better control of proceedings.

Osaka said press conferences were like “kicking a person while they are down”. Sure, having to be interviewed straight after a defeat could lead to a lot of emotions – whether it be anger, frustration, heartbreak or dismay – being made public and perhaps competitors should be allowed a bit more time to compose themselves before having to face the media.

But it is a fact of elite sport that you have to take the losses along with the wins, the plaudits with the brickbats. Every high performance sportsperson deals with this, it is part of the game. And by all accounts, Osaka has always been an engaging, interesting interviewee.

It makes me angry that Osaka would hide behind an issue as important as mental health. And for those who say she is somehow taking action on behalf of many other tennis players who feel the same way, her statement contains 13 references to ‘I’ and ‘Me’ and just one mention of ‘we’re’.

Sorry, but Osaka’s decision smacks of sheer entitlement. She is refusing to follow a regulation that applies to all her fellow competitors, simply because paying a fine of $20 000 a day is hardly a dent in her purse. It is just selfish.

Perhaps the fact that she has never advanced past the third round at Roland Garros has more to do it with than any mental health concerns.

Free State Cheetahs coach Hawies Fourie believes both Francois Steyn and Rosko Specman should be in the Springbok squad to play against the British and Irish Lions, and Saturday’s match against the Toyota Invitation XV will pretty much be their only chance to show the wider public why.

Both the powerhouse Steyn and the hot-stepping Specman will feature in the Cheetahs starting backline on Saturday in a match that, from a team perspective, provides important preparation time for the Currie Cup. But all eyes will be on the players wearing the No.12 and No.11 jerseys.

“I’m pretty sure Frans will be playing for the Springboks this year so this might be his last game for us until November/December. But Rosko deserves to be in the Springbok alignment camps as well and I’m pretty sure he’ll make the final squad. He’s made the choice to concentrate on XVs because the Lions tour is so special, only happening every 12 years.

“Rosko is one of our hardest workers, he’s always doing extras and is on top of his game. I can see his confidence in training and he’s doing everything at 100% pace. This game is an opportunity for Frans and him to get match-sharp because there’s going to be a lot of competition for places in that Springbok squad. Other players have had four weeks to impress, so this chance is very important for those two,” Fourie said on Thursday.

Oom Frans and Uncle Rosko are not the only Springboks in the Free State team Fourie announced on Thursday, with Oupa Mohoje eager to remind everyone of why he has won 19 Test caps for South Africa as well, and veteran scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar leading the Cheetahs into battle on Saturday.

“We all know Ruan is also definitely still good enough to play at Springbok level and I wouldn’t be surprised if they press his button if they get injuries,” Fourie said.

Free State Cheetahs team: Clayton Blommetjies, Craig Barry, Dries Swanepoel, Frans Steyn, Rosko Specman, Brandon Thomson, Ruan Pienaar, Jeandre Rudolph, Oupa Mohoje, Andisa Ntsila, Rynier Bernardo, Victor Sekekete, Aranos Coetzee, Wilmar Arnoldi, Cameron Dawson. Bench – Louis van der Westhuizen, Schalk Ferreira, Conraad van Vuuren, Jacques Potgieter, Aidon Davis, Tian Meyer, Howard Mnisi, Duncan Saal, Chris Massyn, Alulutho Tsakweni.

Playing cricket is extremely dear to pace bowler Lizaad Williams but the 27-year-old admitted on Thursday that he was probably only going to play for another couple of years when he began last season by moving from the Cape Cobras to the Titans.

And now, with the Titans Player of the Year and three other major awards to his name, he is preparing for his first tour with the Proteas as they head off to the West Indies next week. The way Williams has gone from journeyman professional to international cricketer was one of the best stories of the troubled 2020/21 summer.

“I didn’t expect anything when I moved to the Titans, I just wanted the opportunity to play more and I knew a new environment would push me to be better. I’m very thankful to the game and I appreciate it, I’m grateful just to play any game of cricket, even club cricket. But when I came to Centurion, I was in the mental space that I would probably play for just two more years.

“But I did not lose my passion and I wanted to see if I could fulfil my potential, so I gave it my all and things happened way quicker than I imagined, which just shows God is in control and he knows when the right time is. Playing for the Proteas fulfils my lifelong dream, although it was emotional because I wanted my mother to be there on my debut but she passed away in 2019,” Williams told The Citizen on Thursday.

Having left his younger brother in Vredenburg he has quickly become an integral part of a band of brothers at the Titans, winning the Players’ Player of the Year award on Wednesday night as well. And now his travels will take him far across the seas to the Caribbean, where he will be a member of both the Test and T20 squads.

“I know the pitches over there are usually slow and low, but coming from the coast, growing up around Paarl, I’m used to similar conditions. I know on the Highveld you get more reward for fast bowling with nicks to the slips, but it’s almost easier for me on the coast. Your dismissals there are more lbws, caught in the covers or midwicket, it’s hard graft.

“But the beauty of the game is you never know what you’re going to get and South Africa probably has the most differing conditions between all the venues you’ll find anywhere in the world. If you’re playing for the Proteas, if you want to compete with the best, then you have to be able to adapt to any conditions. I train with that mindset – using the new ball, an old ball, a ball that reverses. You can’t just rely on bounce always,” Williams said.

Covid-19 vaccines are not yet freely available to most South Africans, but the Springbok rugby squad is going to get early vaccinations before they embark on their hectic schedule of international games both at home and overseas.

The Springboks, as well as those named in South Africa’s Olympic Games squad, will be getting the last thousand doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine used in the Sisonke project to inoculate health workers. If these vaccines are not used in the next week or so, they will go to waste.

The South African Medical Research Council (MRC) are behind the Springboks being vaccinated, saying it will enable them to travel much more easily by the middle of June and do their jobs, fulfilling their ambassadorial roles for South Africa. Waiting for the Pfizer vaccinations would not be practical because that requires two doses 42 days apart and then another 14-day wait before recipients are cleared for travel.

SA Rugby, whose financial survival depends on the Springboks getting back on to the field and playing this year, have said they will not comment on the matter, but sources close to the Springbok team have confirmed they are going to be vaccinated soon.

The Springboks host Georgia for two warm-up Tests on July 3 and July 10 before heading into their high-stakes series against the British and Irish Lions. After that the Rugby Championship starts in August with two Tests against Argentina in South Africa, before the Springboks are on their way to Australasia, where travel restrictions are very strict, to play the remainder of the tournament.

The move will be seen as controversial in some quarters because there has already been lots of criticism of ‘queue jumpers’ getting the vaccine before the over-60s who are meant to be protected first.

But the Olympic Games are scheduled start in less than two months on July 23, so those participants don’t have time to wait.

MRC head Professor Glenda Gray has said elite sportspeople will be part of the many clinical trials that will be ongoing while the vaccines are being rolled out nationwide. With case numbers rising, the country is widely predicted to go into a third wave of infections as it heads into winter.

South Africa is behind most developed nations in terms of vaccine roll-out and the Springboks, who have not played since winning the World Cup in November 2019, are in danger of falling behind the rest of the rugby-playing world.