Sport is part of our identities. It influences the behaviour and attitudes of countries. Things like fair play, honour or, alternatively, a win-at-all-costs attitude will filter to the populace and alter their perceptions about what is acceptable.

Our South African rugby team winning the World Cup after isolation from international rugby for close to 20 years did a great deal for unifying the country after 40 years of apartheid. But since those days of amateur over professional sport I have seen my favourite teams start to display that win-at-all-costs mentality, seen them cheat with impunity, and seen no outrage from the associations or the media.

Where is the outrage at cheating? Where is the desire for a fair society, fair business, fair sport? The last time I saw a player do something I was proud of, something sportsmanlike, was in cricket. His moment came in a game against Australia, our traditional chief rivals, in a World Cup. Australia were nine wickets down (the game in its dying embers, two balls left with four runs to get and the game decided if a man is out - a real Hollywood ending if Hollywood knew anything about cricket). Shane Warne, in an effort to avoid being out when taking a quick run, illegally hit the ball a second time away from the fielder.

South Africa appealed (umpires cannot intervene in cricket unless appealed to) and they were about to award the game to the Proteas when the late Hansie Cronje, the South African captain, approached the umpires and withdrew the appeal. We showed great sportsmanship and, win or lose, I was proud of the way our team had conducted themselves and I was proud to be a South African that day. We won, by the way.

These are things where national pride affects a country, where it affects the way it does business and the social behaviour of its citizens. I have seen the behaviour of these teams and those in football, the sport I have always enjoyed the most, deteriorate. The youth in our western culture, above all others, are convinced that cheating is endemic in every sphere of society and the odds on their success in life are stacked against them if they are not willing to cheat themselves. The sad thing is that they are not wrong.

But sport has crossed international boundaries now and it is no longer just national pride that will affect behaviour. It is no longer international teams that have the ability to effect changes in attitudes and tolerances. The English Premier League has the largest and broadest fan-base in the world of team sport. Cheating is endemic to the game and cheats exist within all the teams. In a recent incident a player earned an undeserved penalty and the FA's only worry was that it was shown on the big screen at the game and might have incited the fans. Their only rule changes next year involve players getting a yellow card for putting their hand to their ear or finger to the lips during goal celebrations because it might "incite the fans".