Springbok team management have condemned the number of old South African flags that were on view during their tour of Ireland and England and upon their return home.
The old South African flag, consisting of orange, white and blue stripes, was done away with after the demise of Apartheid but several people were seen waving them during the Springboks' tour match against a World XV in Leicester on Sunday.
According to The Star, Springbok team manager Zola Yeye said: 'It was embarrassing to see so many of the flags being waved around. Look at this Springbok team. These are young men of 23 and 24 and they don't want to be subjected to memories of the Apartheid system.
'I would like to say to those people who wave the old flag; these men don't care about your political beliefs or your ideology. They want to play rugby, whether it be against black, white, brown, pink or whatever colour the opposition is.'
Yeye also reported that he had spotted a kiosk outside the Walker Stadium in Leicester, where the Springboks that had 20 of the old flags attached to it.
Yeye said: 'I instructed the management at the Walker Stadium not to allow the flags in. Our national flag is our heart and soul, and these people are insulting the country and the constitution when they embrace the old flag.'
A couple of flags greeted the team's first black captain, Chiliboy Ralepelle, at Johannesburg's international airport on Tuesday.
The Star also claimed that Springbok captain John Smit had been sworn at in Afrikaans after he refused to sign an old South African flag before the Springboks' second match against England at Twickenham on 25 November.
