Coetzee’s critique lamented not only the absence of history, but also that
South Africa was constructed in the RWC ceremonies in the voice of the
foreigner, in images and packaging more reminiscent of American hype than South African realities. He argued further that: ‘Now that rugby has fallen into
the hands of an international cartel embracing a “philosophy” of growth, we can
expect the inherent intellectual muddle of the Rainbow Project to be compounded
by floods of images of South Africa as an exotic sports–tourism
destination, different certainly, but only in a piquant, easily digested way.’