Biltongboere is out says NRU chief

THE Namibia Rugby Union’s chief executive officer, Christo Alexander, has condemned the use of the nickname ‘Biltongboere’ for the national rugby team, saying it is racist and does not reflect the current composition of the team or conform to the policy of national reconciliation.

Alexander said the official name of the national team is the Welwitschias and it is wrong to refer to the team as the Biltongboere, as it was popularly known in pre-independence Namibia. “The word Biltongboere is out.We are now the Welwitschias,” he said.The nickname Biltongboere has been used repeatedly by an Afrikaans daily newspaper during the build-up of the national team to the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France.Alexander said the union is trying to sensitise those who are using the name, as it confuses the nation.”We are busy addressing the issue and we hope that whoever is using it will in future omit it in the reports which are mainly aimed at informing the nation about the activities of the national team and the union,” he said.He added that the national under-19 team should also not be referred to as the ‘Nat Biltongboertjies’.”We don’t have ‘boere’ in the national team, but a national team which is representative of players with diverse backgrounds and who are selected on merit.They are all called the Welwitschias,” he said.”The word Biltongboere is out.We are now the Welwitschias,” he said.The nickname Biltongboere has been used repeatedly by an Afrikaans daily newspaper during the build-up of the national team to the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France.Alexander said the union is trying to sensitise those who are using the name, as it confuses the nation.”We are busy addressing the issue and we hope that whoever is using it will in future omit it in the reports which are mainly aimed at informing the nation about the activities of the national team and the union,” he said.He added that the national under-19 team should also not be referred to as the ‘Nat Biltongboertjies’.”We don’t have ‘boere’ in the national team, but a national team which is representative of players with diverse backgrounds and who are selected on merit.They are all called the Welwitschias,” he said.