Former Springbok Chiliboy Ralepelle has urged black rugby players to speak out about their experiences of systematic racism and discrimination in the sport.

The former Sharks and Bulls player‚ who was recently handed an eight-year ban after he tested positive for banned anabolic substance Zeranol during an out-of-competition test last year‚ said it was time for rugby players to follow the example of former and current cricketers and share their own stories of discrimination in the sport.

He said he was horrified when ex-players Boeta Dippenaar and Pat Symcox criticised Proteas fast bowler Lungi Ngidi for supporting the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.

“It is important that individuals speak up and we must support each other‚ that’s why I love the Lungi matter because he stood up for what’s right‚” said Ralepelle‚ who is considering whether to appeal his eight-year ban or not.

“He (Ngidi) expressed what he felt was right and what the system is doing to other cricketers. The system is of systematic racism and that’s why I say BLM is not just about police brutality‚ but its more to do with the system. The system cripples you from having opportunities and thinking far and beyond. We need to fight this system so that we can see far and beyond.”

On Wednesday a group of prominent coaches and black former rugby players threw their weight behind the BLM movement and Ngidi.

“It gives me goosebumps just thinking that cricketers are willing to stand up‚ but the saddest part is that rugby players tend to protect their agendas.

"I have got nothing against that because everybody has their right to make their own decisions‚ but now it’s time whereby individuals need to step out of their shells and stand up for what is right.

“This will help us preserve the future black generations of this country. It is important that black rugby players come out and they must not feel like they are offending the system because if the system is right‚ it should be standing for what is right in the first place.”

Ralepelle said the discriminatory system denied him and many other talented black players a fair opportunity to prove themselves.

“I don’t say that things should be given to people on a silver platter because we must all work hard towards our goals and ambitions. But if the system was not willing to give me game time‚ then why did they keep me. Why didn’t the system let me go from day one and said you don’t belong here‚" he said.

“Why did they make me captain at the age of 20 knowing very well that I was never ready for that. I believed that it was a political call because how can I captain guys that I looked up to while at High School. I know of many black players who have encountered the similar experiences as me‚ but some people are scared to come out because they want to protect their own agendas.

“Black players are crippled with time and they crippled me by denying me time on the field. I persisted and when the system realized that we crippled him with time but he keeps on fighting and coming back‚ it put other things on my way.

"If you look at my drug cases‚ in 2010 it was a year before the World Cup‚ in 2014 it was a year before the World Cup and in 2019 it was a couple of months before the World Cup. It’s a sequence or a movie.

“When I look at the rugby system‚ it is very powerful for an individual but if we stand up as a united front of people that care for black lives we can topple the system. I remember at the Bulls I stood up when they gave us information in Afrikaans. The coaches spoke in Afrikaans which is not my not my language of choice. I stood up for that and ultimately they changed and started putting information in English.

Ralepelle said nothing much has changed since he was a highly promising teenager at Loftus fresh from Pretoria Boys High School (PHSB).

“Nothing much has changed‚ but I am proud to see that there are few black rugby players who are getting opportunities to play and making full use of it‚"he said.

"They have proved that they are good enough because they were given time and that is not what I got. I fought my whole career fighting for time. You put someone at 20 in the national side and tell him that he or she is the future captain‚ it’s like you are setting him or her to be weaker psychologically or to fail.”