 kamp staaldraad (afrikaans words, translated idiomatically as camp barbed wire) was a military-style "boot camp" organized as a "team building" exercise for the south african national rugby union team, the springboks (or boks), during their preparation for the 2003 rugby world cup (rwc). when the details of the camp emerged in the south african media, it ignited a firestorm of protest that quickly consumed much of the upper administrative levels of south african rugby. soon after the naming of the springboks world cup team in september 2003, boks coach rudolph straeuli arranged for the team to go to a police camp in the south african bush, near the town of thabazimbi. he delegated much of the responsibility for running the team camp to his staff. after the controversy over the camp broke, several staffers indicated that it was intended to banish all traces of individuality from the players. soon after the boks were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the rugby world cup, a south african newspaper reported that before the rwc, the boks had been sent to a boot camp where players had allegedly been ordered into a freezing lake naked to pump up rugby balls underwater. the story also alleged that players who tried to get out of the lake, including boks captain cornÃ© krige, were forced back in at gunpoint. within days, several south african newspapers ran pictures leaked from the camp, showing players standing naked in the lake and holding rugby balls in front of their private parts, and shivering boks players huddled naked in a pit. the whistleblower emerged as boks video analyst dale mcdermott.how 'judas' saved the boks: columnists: keo: news24 in the days that followed, the media reported other details from the camp: *the team was ordered to climb into a foxhole naked and sing the national anthem while ice-cold water was poured over their heads. during their time in the hole, recordings of god save the queen (used as england's national anthem) and the new zealand all blacks haka were played at full volume. *it was confirmed that firearms were present at the camp, although reports varied as to whether they were ever pointed at anyone. *the players were forced to crawl naked across gravel. *they also were ordered to spend a night in the bush, during which they were to kill and cook chickens, but not eat them. south africans almost universally condemned kamp staaldraad. the country's military agreed; a spokesman for the [[south afri
2003_in_rugby_union Rugby_union_controversies South_Africa_national_rugby_union_team