Controversial Western Province loose forward Luke Watson has launched a bizarre attack on his Springbok teammates, South African rugby, administrators and even the late Danie Craven.
But most of all, in his melodramatic outburst, he claimed that he felt so nauseated by wearing the Springbok jersey that he wanted to vomit on it.
Rugby 365’s Jan De Koning writes that another claim he made was that “the problem with SA rugby is that it is controlled by Dutchmen”, whilst Watson also suggested that SA rugby is “rotten to the core” and that “the men who sit on my left and right of me in the change room despise me for who I am”.
In another instance, there was an inference that an incident in which veteran Bok fullback Percy Montgomery proposed that wing Jongi Nokwe toast his teammates at a Springbok dinner was an example of racism within the Bok camp.
Watson’s comments came at the Ubumbo Rugby Festival at the University of Cape Town Rugby Football Club (UCTRFC) on Friday, October 3.
And the speech was delivered in the week before his father, Cheeky Watson, joined the clamour for the Springbok to be removed as an emblem from the various national rugby teams of South Africa.
The loose forward – who was controversially included in the Bok team last year by South African Rugby Union (SARU) President Oregan Hoskins, despite strong resistance from World Cup-winning coach Jake White – was the keynote speaker at UCT.
Watson made reference to his family’s political connections with the anti-apartheid struggle and said he bore the “burden” of wearing the Springbok jersey because “there was a bigger picture”.
“We need to see the bigger picture and realise that the here and now is not just the here and now, but the here and now only exists because of those who went before us and because of those who are still to come,” Watson said.
“Me having to wear the Springbok jersey, to keep myself from vomiting on it, because there is a bigger picture, because men and women have bled for me to get there.
“Did I ever want to be there? No, it’s never been my dream, but I chose this burden with the greatest of pride and satisfaction, knowing that my father Cheeky Watson laid down his life to get me there.
“Knowing that Zola Yeye laid down his life, Archie Mkele, legends from the Eastern Cape where I grew up, known to me as my uncles and my fathers, knowing that they fought for me to get here, and that my job is to bear the burden and carry the torch of hope,” he said, adding that he was not fighting for himself, but for a “greater cause”.
Watson, who also admitted that he had never been accepted by his Springbok teammates, also made reference to an incident at the Springbok training camp last year when he wanted to walk out because of the animosity towards him.
“I stand before you as a man, that I can honestly say I’m transformed,” he said.
“It has taken many, many valleys, many, many mountains to get there. I sat with my father, last year in the Springbok camp. I was in the hotel. I said: ‘Dad, I’m leaving. This place is despicable, it’s disgusting. The men won’t talk to me, they won’t greet me, the very coach won’t greet me. They walk past me. I sat at a table by myself; they wouldn’t eat with me, because I was a political pawn.’
“But yet, Danie Craven has stadiums named after him. Danie Craven, the very man that said a black man will never play for the Springboks; he’s got stadiums named after him, he’s got traditions [tournaments] in honour of his name, statues erected.
“But yet I’m a political pawn? The little white boy in the corner, that sits with his mouth shut eating by himself?
“My father said: ‘Luke, unpack your bag’. I said: ‘Why?’.
“He said: ‘Too many people, Luke, have bled, so that you can be here, whether you play or not, your very presence symbolises victory, symbolises a step forward, symbolises us coming up against South African rugby, an institution that is rotten to the very core’.”
Watson also made reference to an interview he did with a journalist in Wellington, New Zealand, last year during the Super 14, in which his father’s role in the struggle again came up.
“I’m sitting in Wellington last year, during the Super 14, and a reporter comes up to me. He says: ‘Luke I interviewed your father Cheeky Watson about 20 years ago and I asked him: ‘Cheeky, why are you doing this?’.
“And this is the defining moment in my life, when I got respect for him. He [the journalist] said: ‘Luke, your father looked at me and said: The reason I am doing this, is so I can look my son in he eye one day and say I made a difference, I stood up when others ran away. I faced the enemy when cowards fled, so I can look in the eye of my son one day and say I’ve made a difference’.”
The loose forward also made other political and biblical references in trying to explain his own life’s journey.
“You see ladies and gentlemen, the beauty about truth is that truth… truth is down to what you want to be,” said Watson.
“Apartheid, apartheid was the most righteous thing they could have done, that was the truth the white man chose to believe. The Bible, it supports apartheid, it supports the KKK, it supports all these white extremists, because that is the truth they chose to believe.
“That is the perception they have in the world.
“I remember growing up in high school saying I wanted to be a professional rugby player. Even now I’m of small stature compared to the other big boys, but back then I was of even smaller stature. My teachers back then, I can even remember them by name, looked at me in a way that said: ‘You will not make it’ – because that was their perception.
“But my truth was different to their truth, my reality was different to their reality. Because of my perception, because I looked past and I saw the hope in the future… I went past the here and now and realised that there was a bigger picture.”
In explaining how he “transformed” himself, Watson again made reference to the “bigger picture” and the “bigger cause” in his life.
“I’m not throwing some political twist to this transformation, I’m not saying transformation of South African rugby. I’m not saying transformation of the man next to me, on my left or on my right.
“I’m saying transformation of Luke Watson. Because, when I’ve transformed, when I’ve pushed on, when I’m alive, when I’m reaching for my destiny, the man next to me he will automatically get upset. The man next to me automatically gets uncomfortable.
“He looks at me and says: ‘There is something different about this man, there is something different about Luke Watson. He can’t be bought – I can’t throw the Springbok jersey at him and expect him to beg for it, to be on his knees, because it is not going to happen’.
“Because my heart, my soul, my very being, was stolen many years ago, by a cause far greater than my own.”
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If this guy EVER becomes the Bok captain then i can only hope that i get a chance to get close enough to him to puke on HIM.
To the WP supporters out there I would like to say a BIG Thank You.
If you guys hadn’t bought this guy then we would have been saddled with him.
Does this drivel really belong here, Ksa?
The ravings of a total lunatic.
I withdraw formally every single positive word I ever said about this obviously derailed individual.
Not really sure on that point, but I decided to post it anyway.
More along the lines of him not wanting to be a Bok than his stupid attack on the “Dutchmen” and #46 idiocy
@KSA Shark © (Comment 5) : Well. See how it goes, but please pull it at the first sign of trouble. It seems very political to me
@robdylan (Go Sharks!) (Comment 6) :
To me too, but I am hoping we have a more educated poster here who can control themselves.
I am about to hop on a plane though, but will check it as soon as i land.
“The men won’t talk to me, they won’t greet me, the very coach won’t greet me. They walk past me. I sat at a table by myself; they wouldn’t eat with me, because I was a political pawn.”
No Luke, it’s because you’re so righteous about your greatness, your swagger, your accomplishments, your superiority complex and the fact that you are the greatest person in the world – according to you.
@robdylan (Go Sharks!) (Comment 6) : Rob, I actually think it’s gone past that. As silverfox so succinctly and accurately points out, these are “The ravings of a total lunatic.”
Luke has gone beyond the weird into the realm of psychosis. His ranting suggests he doesn’t belong on a rugby field but in an institution where people wear white coats and stay in padded cells.
This would be laughably crazy if it weren’t so scary that someone could say this kind of thing.
He could well alienate himself from rugby in SA. He is becoming bigger than the game and soon no-one, even his own Union, will want to touch him for bringing everyone he is associated with (including himself) into disrepute.
Thank you Luke for confirming what alot of people thought of you..
Neo is that you?
I wonder if the irony in the nickname “Puke Floatsam” is lost on Luke The Saviour.
I had to check the browser to see if I was on the right site…
At least we’ll never see Luke in a Bok jumper again… nuff said…
Funny how this despicable little man is fully behind the Boks when he is being selected but now that it looks as if he’ll struggle to make the side he is disgusted.
Very easy to take the moral highground when you’re not going to make the side anyway.
Funnily enough I share his political convictions to a certain degree but am still nauseated by the very sight of him. Disappointed to say I used to be a fan of this arrogant little shit.
@robdylan (Go Sharks!) (Comment 6) : looks at rob 👿 , should i use tis article to show my unedjucated self ❓ naaaaaaaaaaaaa its sunday morning , im in a good mood the sharks are on a roll
and puke twatson is not worth to much effort , the kid is useless and he knows he wont be chosen again thus he attacks the springbok
but worse the names he called his fellow springboks??
surely even his own team mates will not forgive him that one???
now for some breakfast lol 😛
can you imagine him telling bakkies he is a dutchman ???? 😆
does luke not get that people don’t like him because of who he is, not what he is?
If you spend your time rubbishing your team and the traditions of one of the most revered rugby teams on earth and openly accusing people of being racist and belittling the jersey they have spent their whole life trying to achieve why exactly will the like you?
If anyone in any team behaved like this spoiled brat no one would like them.
The salient point here is most of the politics in this piece is fuelled by luke and the animosty caused by him.
Keegan Daniels is smaller than Luke and plays in the same position… I have not heard him crying about the burdens of life, the little guy just tries harder and damn do I respect him for it.
i want to take a dump on luke
damn on keo site this article is causing a free for all lmao
😯
@just blackshark (Comment 20) : morning utathe
hows MPONDO doing in durbs\?? 😆
sharks on a roll huh?
btw did you go to the game??
@sharks_lover (Comment 21) : uthathe = nthathe lol if spelt correctly
Not even Yoda will be able to help him.
He seems to have serious psychological/psychiatric issues. The cause of which one can only speculate. I hope he seeks and find the help he seems to need.
But then again I don’t know him from a bar of soap and he might be perfectly sane.
He just ended his rugby career in SA. I cannot see that even his WP friends would want him after that. And behold if Pienk Das De Villiers will ever pick him again!! 👿
every afrikaner is gonna moer him on a rugby field
the okes mouth is way to big
I think we give this idiot far too much credence. Let him dry up and blow away and take his idiot of a father with him
OH MY GAWD!
His political views aside, everything he does and says is just so distasteful. He really could learn to act with a bit of decorum. I can’t understand how he can whine about everyone disliking him when this is the way if talks about them. If obviously has no respect for his teammates but expects them to respect him. This boy has serious entitlement issues.
how much bet the ’10k ransom’ comes up again.
@PJLD (Comment 28) : lol hiyas boet , wat se onse goeie cappie vaddag??
isnt it time you became a sharks supporter now?? 😆
@VinChainSaw (Comment 29) : i agree vi but like rob says he should just blow away
we all know the history of rugby i mean shit i grew up knowning our natal players would not be chosen for the boks as they were english and from natal
@PJLD (Comment 30) : 10 bucks??
😯 😆
tis what i love about the sharks
not one player in sharks team a quota or any of that kinda shit
also the sharks acadamy goes out of its way to grow and edjucate black players within its system
show me a sharks supporter that doesnt love beast odwa adi
murray jpp and so on
they hero’s to us and can never be taken as a quota , and there is many more coming through in the system
@sharks_lover (Comment 31) : i was black white and dynamite yesterday and will be for the final.
@PJLD (Comment 35) : i knew it
😈 you closet sharky you 😆
you still want luke in ur holy wp team pjld?? 😯
@sharks_lover (Comment 37) :i dont even want him in CT anymore.I want to vomit just thinking of the good stuff i said about luke ‘i pay i order’ watson
@PJLD (Comment 30) :
Any chance we can increase that by starting a trust fund that we can contribute to?
@KSA Shark © (Comment 39) :shouldnt be too hard
@PJLD (Comment 40) :
Maybe we can invite Luke to come and play in a “friendly” match over this side……………..
@PJLD (Comment 38) : ur a scholar and a gentleman lol and next time im in the mountain city you woe me 12 beers 😆
@sharks_lover (Comment 42) :
if you feed him enough beers he may just have enough in him to ACTUALLY vomit on Puke.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 43) : uhm a waste of good puke 😯
@sharks_lover (Comment 44) :
Use cheap beer. 😀
@PJLD (Comment 40) : kan ons jou paarl perle voer?? lmfao 😆
@KSA Shark © (Comment 43) :ive got a few castle 8packs at home,by the by thats one of the coolest things ever.
@PJLD (Comment 47) :
Okay i am not in SA. WTF is an 8pack? Same as a 6 pack just with 8?
Dilemma: Do i buy a 6 pack of long toms or an 8 pack of regular cans? 😆
😕 collecting for the dry times??
@PJLD (Comment 47) :
How about you just get a Heineken Mini Keg and moer him with it and then drink the beer afterwards?
but can we pls not talk about alcohol today,especially not kwv.
(Comment 48) :since the rwc castle has had a ‘scrum pack’ 8 beers,price of 6.im not really a long tom person.
😯 Sjoe. The ramblings of a looney.
Just as a matter of logic, that is probably lost on Puke: how can we hope to shore up the divisions created by the past, if we create new prejudices today? Tolerance works both ways, Puke.
@PJLD (Comment 52) : Go Castle!
WOW! What a great way of ensuring you won’t get picked again! 😀 Career suicide. It’s so sad when someone (and let’s face it, most of us in this country) can be so easily brainwashed by the problems of their forefathers. That said, I for one turned out more or less okay. Dad was a certified nutjob and pretty much the only thing I inherited from him was a smart-arse but cynical demeanour.
Haven’t spent a day in Sterkfontein Psyche Hospital yet! (OK, OK. No jibes from the peanut gallery please! :wink:)
Luke Watson, you are the real world version of what we would call a troll in geek land! I disliked you before mainly cos I thought you were a kak rugby player. Now I loathe you with the deepest contempt that I can fathom. Hey, you know what, starting your own political party is in vogue right now in case you hadn’t noticed. Please do, so you can deliver your inane rantings in a more “receptive” career environment cos we sure as shit don’t want you in rugby. Nasty muppet.
PS. When I start working out, I hope to have an 8-pack too.
i thought no politics on this site?
@try time (Comment 56) :
There ARE no politics on this site and we are trying to keep it that way.
This is about Luke Watson being a prize d#$khead not about any political issue.
Poor boy…must be awful to live with all that hate in him 🙁
This is an Idiot trying to score points, probably sees he doesn’t have a future in rugby anymore sp Feathering his Nest for a Political Future. I am so sad that Rugby and Politics are so meshed together in SA Rugby. I just wish its was left as a great game. I in all honesty don’t give a Rat A#@s what a persons colour is as long as they play the game. Just imagine if the USA made race an issue when it came to picking a AFL team, but they don’t because its the game they love not the Politics. Just imagine if politics were involved in the All Blacks the Kiwis love their rugby and don’t give a Frig if a Player is Maori,Somoan etc etc. So maybe an New Political Party called the Keep Politics Out Of Sport Party can be started. Way back in the 80s we used to play Rugby against mixed teams in Northern Natal ( Durnacol, Kilbarchan,Hlobane etc)I know because of Politics these players wouldn’t have gone far either, but here the common denominator in this (POLITICS. KEEP IT OUT OF SPORT.
Rob, now I know why you couldn’t see any good Luke did on the field, he doesn’t deserve any credit if he really talks like this. Who would want a guy like this in the team, he’d totally kill team spirit.
This dude is seriously messed up, I think he needs to see a psychiatrist or something, I don’t know what happened to him when he was a kid, but it seems like his scared pretty bad
My brother says he talks like a guy who’s on cocaine and unfortunately he would know, because he was a bad boy in his younger years.
@PJLD (Comment 52) :
Classic…
@KSA Shark © (Comment 48) : Depends how fast you drink your beer. Fast get less big ones, slow get more little ones! 😆
I wonder why the Watson family is so verbal about their contribution to the struggle when thousands of other men and women have done far more AND don’t find a need to blow their own trumpet? Kinda makes you think, doesn’t it? Watson talks about the “bigger picture” and the “bigger cause” in his life. Get real Luke. The only big thing about you and your life is your big head. You are a legend in your own mind.
@robdylan (Go Sharks!) (Comment 3) : Was thinking a similar thing
May Puke never feel like puking again. May he never waer another rugby jersey again. May DSTV cut any sportschannels from his subscruption. Confirms what I always thought about him. F*&k ass 👿
More news on Puke:
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=6&click_id=4&art_id=nw20081012154754657C298951
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=6&click_id=4&art_id=vn20081013053420427C575033
Goodbye Pukester. Now that I see it was recorded you really are done for.
“Propagandistic”. Is that a word? My-oh-my he sounds like an ANC-politico wannabe. Oh wait…
Luke Watson is such a MUPPETT, he doesn’t deserve to don a Springbok rugby jersey. His teammates are not ignoring him, he’s just not that important….
@Sauce (Comment 64) : I see why Voldy does it… we doubled our usual Sunday traffic yesterday…
Freedom Fighters fly beneath the radar. They do not brag, nor do they boast about their contribution to The Struggle. This being true, I now question everything about him. When people like Luke get behind a microphone or talk to a journalist, they have only one thing on their mind: to highlight their own self-importance and sing their own praises. Watson is phoney through and through. I am so glad his comments were taped – now he can be investigated and held accountable for everything he has said.