Rory weighs in on the Ashwin Willemse saga

I have long tried to find an alternative for a system which can make a player of colour feel like he or she has been selected purely to tick a box on a piece of paper.

I have long tried to find an alternative for a system which allows a player who is not of colour to suspect he or she has not been selected purely because they do not tick a box on a piece of paper.

I have long tried to find an alternative for a system which allows a man at a braai (or in a SuperSport studio) to argue that a particular player has been selected purely to tick a box on a piece of paper.

And no number of mind-blowing performances from such a player is able to turn the tide on this self-fulfilling prophecy. 

Once it has been decided by a particular person or group of people that a particular player has been selected purely to tick a box on a piece of paper, that is what this player 'will always be'. 

This player might score a hat-trick of tries in his first Springbok game and make four try-saving tackles in his next.

If he knocks the ball on just once in his third game, he will be called a 'quota player' by 'pundits' at braais all over the country.

Read: Ashwin Willemse walks off set during live TV

I'm afraid I do not have a solution, but all of the above makes me very, very sad.

I don't want any player to feel like he or she has been selected simply to tick a box, and I don't want any player to feel like he or she has been omitted simply because they do not tick a box.

And finally, the powers that be, who are now calling for Nick Mallett and Naas Botha to be suspended, need to accept some responsibility for a system in which such accusations (as the ones allegedly made against Ashwin Willemse) are made possible.

In case you missed the moment when Ashwin Willemse walked off-set during a live show, watch it below: