Herbert Mensah, the president of Rugby Africa, is in an exclusive with me praising South African rugby boss Mark Alexander for achieving success on and off the field with his country. South Africa is back-to-back world champions, on top of being financially the healthiest of the top-tier rugby-playing nations on the planet post-pandemic (ahead of the likes of France, England, New Zealand, Australia, Japan etc). Mensah, two years into office, says he is motivated by South Africa’s success story. His vision, he says, is to ride on South Africa, during his tenure, to grow rugby throughout the continent and produce other global powers from Africa.
Mensah catch-line: “I’ve only one criticism of a statement made by Mark. One, and it’s a big one…because Mark is my big brother. He says every time when the Springboks wear that shirt, they know they are playing for 60 million (South African) people. Mark, Mark, Mark! How wrong are you! You’re playing for 1.4 billion (African) people, that’s who you’re playing for! When Siya (Kolisi) lifted the (World) Cup, children in villages all around Africa understood who Kolisi is and what he stood for, and that is significant and I get you Mark, I’m half-pulling your leg! But you have to understand that for me, it is what you do off the field that creates greatness. I thank you for Jurie Roux (South African rugby administrator with passion for African development) and I thank you for the window that allows me to look into what it is that you are doing and achieving and try to see if I can try persuade not those with me today, but those who will be there tomorrow. Thank you, Mark, and congratulations.”
Herbert Mensah is being awarded with The Order of The Volta by Ghana’s last president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, an award for outstanding service to the country.
Background: South Africa, the best rugby nation in the world at the moment and World Cup champions in a row, have emerged as the financially healthiest of the top-tier rugby nations in the world (ahead of France, England, New Zealand and Australia) post-coronavirus. The South African Rugby Union (SARU) is the only board among the global giants of the game which didn’t require government intervention during and after the devastating effects of the pandemic.
Now, Rugby Africa, the governing body of the sport on the continent (which pretty much takes care of the rest of Africa outside SA) is making a passionate plea to SARugby to help grow African rugby, which is already Africa’s fastest growing team sport.
Herbert Mensah with Springbok World Cup-winner Cheslin Kolbe
Ghanaian Herbert Mensah, the current president of Rugby Africa and the body’s first head outside the French-speaking regions, has applauded SARU boss Mark Alexander for not only leading SA rugby exceptionally well through tough times, but for his commitment to get South Africa to help in the development of rugby across the less developed parts of the continent.
Mensah is a recently elected member of the Executive Board of World Rugby, the powerful arm of the sport’s global ruling body.
His vision, he says, is to uplift rugby in Africa and bring it next to football in terms of fanbase, playing numbers and viewership. Alexander, and SARU, Mensah says, have a huge role to play in that.
Mensah is a past chairman of Ghanaian football giants Asante Kotoko, two-time African Champions League winners.
Herbert Mensah with new members of the Executive Board of World Cup following elections in Dublin last December.
In rugby, Mensah was introduced to the sport as a teenager in the United Kingdom.
He played schoolboy rugby in the UK in the 80s, and for Surrey University and Surrey county. In the 80s, on his travels to Zimbabwe, he turned out for local club giants Old Hararians. In 1985 he was the only black player selected for Zimbabwe’s best provincial side, Mashonaland, for a warm-up match on the Azzurri’s two-Test match tour of the new African country. Mensah scored a try for Mashonaland in the Italians’ only defeat on tour, which included five games across the country.
He was elected head of African rugby two years ago, ending a Francophone domination since the body was established.
Mensah is a firm campaigner for Africa having a say at the top table of African rugby, and pledges to get those voices heard through his position on the Executive Board of World Rugby.
Global power South Africa through SARU and Mark Alexander are extremely instrumental in the march towards that African goal.
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