Kamp Staaldraad
Encyclopedia
Kamp Staaldraad was a military-style "boot camp" organized as a "team building
" exercise for the South Africa
n national rugby union
team, the Springboks
(or Boks), during their preparation for the 2003 Rugby World Cup (RWC). When the details of the camp emerged in the South African media, it ignited a firestorm of protest that quickly consumed much of the upper administrative levels of South African rugby.
Soon after the naming of the Springboks World Cup team in September 2003, Boks coach Rudolph Straeuli
arranged for the team to go to a police camp in the South African bush, near the town of Thabazimbi
. He delegated much of the responsibility for running the team camp to his staff. After the controversy over the camp broke, several staffers indicated that it was intended to banish all traces of individuality from the players.
Soon after the Boks were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Rugby World Cup, a South African newspaper reported that before the RWC, the Boks had been sent to a boot camp where players had allegedly been ordered into a freezing lake naked to pump up rugby balls underwater. The story also alleged that players who tried to get out of the lake, including Boks captain Corné Krige
, were forced back in at gunpoint. Within days, several South African newspapers ran pictures leaked from the camp, showing players standing naked in the lake and holding rugby balls in front of their private parts, and shivering Boks players huddled naked in a pit. The whistleblower
emerged as Boks video analyst Dale McDermott.
In the days that followed, the media reported other details from the camp:
South Africans almost universally condemned Kamp Staaldraad. The country's military agreed; a spokesman for the South African National Defence Force
pointedly told the Cape Times
newspaper that the force never trained its recruits naked, and he knew of no military organization in the world that did so. Many rugby observers also pointed out that trying to eliminate all individuality from a team could be counterproductive, as there are many times during a rugby match when individual initiative can make the difference between victory and defeat.
Straeuli attempted to defend the camp as detail after detail became public; he eventually succumbed to pressure and resigned. Higher-ups in the country's rugby establishment initially refused to distance themselves from Kamp Staaldraad; many of them were purged at the same time as Straeuli. The Boks' disappointing results in 2003 (early exit from the RWC; record losses to France
, England
, Scotland
, and New Zealand
; a last-minute win over Argentina
) were enough by themselves to threaten the jobs of Straeuli and many rugby executives. However, their attempts to defend Kamp Staaldraad apparently were the last straw for many South African rugby supporters, and for many within the rugby establishment who saw the need for a dramatic change in direction.
In a tragic postscript to the story, McDermott was found dead from a bullet wound to the head at his home in Durban
on 9 January 2005. His death was eventually determined to be a suicide
; no foul play had been suspected. McDermott's mother reported that he had suffered extreme clinical depression
in the months leading to his death. After supplying the images that led to the controversy, he was forced to leave his job at the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (from which he had been contracted out to the Boks) and returned to teaching at Durban High School
. Jake White
, who took over as Boks coach after the forced resignation of Straeuli, tried to bring McDermott back into the Boks staff, but SA Rugby
vetoed the re-appointment.
Team building
Team building refers to a wide range of activities, presented to businesses, schools, sports teams, religious or nonprofit organizations designed for improving team performance...
" exercise for the South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n national rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
team, the Springboks
South Africa national rugby union team
The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
(or Boks), during their preparation for the 2003 Rugby World Cup (RWC). When the details of the camp emerged in the South African media, it ignited a firestorm of protest that quickly consumed much of the upper administrative levels of South African rugby.
Soon after the naming of the Springboks World Cup team in September 2003, Boks coach Rudolph Straeuli
Rudolph Straeuli
Rudolph August Wilkens Straeuli played rugby union in the positions of flanker and Number 8 for, and later coached, the Springboks rugby team. He also played for the Lions provincial team in the Currie Cup competition...
arranged for the team to go to a police camp in the South African bush, near the town of Thabazimbi
Thabazimbi
Thabazimbi is an iron mining town in the Limpopo province of South Africa. The town is situated at the feet of the Ysterberg and is surrounded by the Witfonteinrand and Boshofberg with the majestic Kransberg in the background. The name Thabazimbi means mountain of iron because of the large iron ore...
. He delegated much of the responsibility for running the team camp to his staff. After the controversy over the camp broke, several staffers indicated that it was intended to banish all traces of individuality from the players.
Soon after the Boks were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Rugby World Cup, a South African newspaper reported that before the RWC, the Boks had been sent to a boot camp where players had allegedly been ordered into a freezing lake naked to pump up rugby balls underwater. The story also alleged that players who tried to get out of the lake, including Boks captain Corné Krige
Corné Krige
Cornelius Petrus Johannes "Corné" Krige was a South African rugby union footballer, now retired, who played flanker for Western Province in the Currie Cup, the Stormers in Super Rugby and captained the South African national side, the Springboks.-Career:Corne Krige was Zambian-born and his parents...
, were forced back in at gunpoint. Within days, several South African newspapers ran pictures leaked from the camp, showing players standing naked in the lake and holding rugby balls in front of their private parts, and shivering Boks players huddled naked in a pit. The whistleblower
Whistleblower
A whistleblower is a person who tells the public or someone in authority about alleged dishonest or illegal activities occurring in a government department, a public or private organization, or a company...
emerged as Boks video analyst Dale McDermott.
In the days that followed, the media reported other details from the camp:
- The team was ordered to climb into a foxholeDefensive fighting positionA defensive fighting position is a type of earthwork constructed in a military context, generally large enough to accommodate at least one person.- Terminology :...
naked and sing the national anthemNational anthem of South AfricaSince 1997, the South African national anthem has been a hybrid song combining new English lyrics with extracts of the hymn "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" and the former anthem "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" . The fact that it shifts and ends in a different key, a feature it shares with the Italian national...
while ice-cold water was poured over their heads. During their time in the hole, recordings of God Save the QueenGod Save the Queen"God Save the Queen" is an anthem used in a number of Commonwealth realms and British Crown Dependencies. The words of the song, like its title, are adapted to the gender of the current monarch, with "King" replacing "Queen", "he" replacing "she", and so forth, when a king reigns...
(used as EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
's national anthem) and the New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
All BlacksAll BlacksThe New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
haka were played at full volume. - It was confirmed that firearms were present at the camp, although reports varied as to whether they were ever pointed at anyone.
- The players were forced to crawl naked across gravel.
- They also were ordered to spend a night in the bush, during which they were to kill and cook chickens, but not eat them.
South Africans almost universally condemned Kamp Staaldraad. The country's military agreed; a spokesman for the South African National Defence Force
South African National Defence Force
The South African National Defence Force is the armed forces of South Africa. The military as it exists today was created in 1994, following South Africa's first post-apartheid national elections and the adoption of a new constitution...
pointedly told the Cape Times
Cape Times
The Cape Times is an English language morning newspaper owned by Independent News & Media and published in Cape Town, South Africa. The first edition of the newspaper was published on 27 March 1876 by then editor Frederick York St Leger...
newspaper that the force never trained its recruits naked, and he knew of no military organization in the world that did so. Many rugby observers also pointed out that trying to eliminate all individuality from a team could be counterproductive, as there are many times during a rugby match when individual initiative can make the difference between victory and defeat.
Straeuli attempted to defend the camp as detail after detail became public; he eventually succumbed to pressure and resigned. Higher-ups in the country's rugby establishment initially refused to distance themselves from Kamp Staaldraad; many of them were purged at the same time as Straeuli. The Boks' disappointing results in 2003 (early exit from the RWC; record losses to France
France national rugby union team
The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...
, England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
, Scotland
Scotland national rugby union team
The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
, and New Zealand
All Blacks
The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
; a last-minute win over Argentina
Argentina national rugby union team
The Argentina national rugby team, nicknamed Los Pumas, represents Argentina in international rugby union matches. The team, which plays in sky blue and white jerseys, is organised by the Argentine Rugby Union .Argentina played its first international rugby match in 1910 against a touring British...
) were enough by themselves to threaten the jobs of Straeuli and many rugby executives. However, their attempts to defend Kamp Staaldraad apparently were the last straw for many South African rugby supporters, and for many within the rugby establishment who saw the need for a dramatic change in direction.
In a tragic postscript to the story, McDermott was found dead from a bullet wound to the head at his home in Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
on 9 January 2005. His death was eventually determined to be a suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
; no foul play had been suspected. McDermott's mother reported that he had suffered extreme clinical depression
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
in the months leading to his death. After supplying the images that led to the controversy, he was forced to leave his job at the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (from which he had been contracted out to the Boks) and returned to teaching at Durban High School
Durban High School
Durban High School is an all boys public school in Durban, South Africa.- History :DHS opened its doors in 1866 in two rooms and with seven pupils in Smith Street. From there it moved to a disused granary in Cato Square in 1880, just after the Zulu War, and then to the Old Hospital on the foreshore...
. Jake White
Jake White
Jake White is a rugby union coach and former coach of the South Africa national rugby union team, the Springboks. His most notable achievements as coach include leading the Springboks to victory in 2007 Rugby World Cup and the 2004 Tri Nations title...
, who took over as Boks coach after the forced resignation of Straeuli, tried to bring McDermott back into the Boks staff, but SA Rugby
South African Rugby Union
The South African Rugby Union is the governing body for rugby union in South Africa and is affiliated to the International Rugby Board...
vetoed the re-appointment.