• SA Rugby will follow its own internal procedure to determine how to respond to the England-based South African players who opted not to kneel for Black Lives Matter.
• Sports minister Nathi Mthethwa has demanded an explanation from the federation without "jumping the gun".
• SA Rugby will reveal its own on-field message to the global movement in due course. 

SA Rugby will not react hastily to the several South African players who opted not to kneel in support of Black Lives Matter during last weekend's English Premiership resumption.

Sports minister Nathi Mthethwa on Monday said that he didn't want to "jump the gun" on Faf de Klerk, Coenie Oosthuizen, Lood de Jager, Akker van der Merwe as well as the three Du Preez brothers merely wearing "Rugby against Racism" shirts and not bending the knee before turning out for Sale Sharks.

However, he did contact Mark Alexander, SA Rugby's president, to request clarity on the matter as well as the federation's stance on the global movement, reiterating that racism won't be tolerated.

"The president has indicated that he'll call a meeting of the executive committee and discuss the matter along with a lot of other matters that are currently very topical," Jurie Roux, SA Rugby's chief, told a media briefing on Tuesday.

"I'm going to give (Alexander) the latitude to actually have that meeting and have that discussion. We'll then meet with the minister and release an official position. I think we've categorically stated previously where we stand. If we stand stronger together, then I see now reason why we're not."

As a result, SA Rugby will reserve judgment on the players - all of them have Springbok caps - until an official position has been agreed on.

The English Premiership has allowed its clubs to determine their own responses to Black Lives Matter.

"It's very obvious that until the internal meeting has happened, I'll be steering away from any comment because I'd be making a personal comment instead of on behalf of SA Rugby. We will decide on how to deal with the matter and then act on that. Otherwise I'm just speculating," said Roux.

Given the sensitive nature of the debate, SA Rugby also has the added PR challenge of ensuring its unions appreciate its magnitude.

"(What unions do) is a matter of opinion. If you ask people in SA rugby and talk to people that actually makes the decisions there's a full understanding of the past and what needs to be rectified," said Roux.

"In terms of an understanding on the way forward, we're busy with our own plans on how we'll address this matter and how we'll send our message when we return to the pitch."