Blackness is a sacred thing in New Zealand sport. It started with their rugby union team, the All Blacks, and it's spread to a long list of New Zealand sports.

Some, like badminton, are going to make you think "holy cow!" and I hope Springboks coach Peter de Villiers is taking note because he needs to learn - there are NO "holy cows" in South African rugby union.

New Zealand has its famous rugby union squad - the All Blacks - but they love to black-out all sports like cricket (the Black Caps) or their curiously coy A1 GP racing car called Black Beauty.

Black-ness, black-outs, black-washes, it's all Black, Black, Black in New Zealand and I'm hoping that De Villiers, the Springboks' first black coach, can learn from this black plague.

New Zealand's badminton team (the Black Cocks) and De Villiers have got me thinking "holy cow!" And while the Black Cocks have a reputation in badminton for being stiff opposition, De Villiers still has to show his manhood as the new man in charge of Springbok rugby.

To me, De Villiers is green. His skin isn't black, white, yellow or pink. Quite simply I'm not interested. He's the coach of the Springboks and I'd actually be racist if I was reluctant to give him the same criticism I've heaped on a string of coaches before him.

De Villiers can't hide behind a black shield like a bunch of Black Cocks or the All Blacks!

At this stage, it's 50-50. I think Springboks fans have cut him a lot of slack because he is the first badminton-type Boks coach. He's got a job to do, like every coach before him, and I really wish him the best.

When things go well, everyone, including me, will heap praises on him, but I hope he's man enough (and a handy badminton player) when the going gets tough, to take the abuse we normally heap on the man left holding the shuttlecock in rugby.

Having your feathers properly ruffled is part of the game. I'm not prepared to bite my lip for the sake of "holy cows" and nothing sucks more than being molly-coddled as a 'badminton player' in a rugby union squad. I'm sure the Black Cocks agree!