Welsh and Irish rugby players refused to take the knee before a match commenced at the Principality Stadium on Sunday.
The players chose to remain standing during the show of support for the anti-racism movement, which has proven controversial. Some people believe it amounts to a mandatory endorsement of the left-wing values promoted by many in the Black Lives Matter movement.
It comes after rugby players representing both England and Scotland came under scrutiny after 14 of the 30 starters in yesterday’s Six Nations clash refused to take the knee ahead of kick-off.
Scotland’s coach, Gregor Townsend, said he “100%” backs his players’ decision not to kneel, adding that they had not discussed it before the game.
England star Billy Vunipola compared the gesture associated with Black Lives Matter to “burning churches and Bibles”.
Rugby Union rejected an attempt by Black Lives Matter activists to ban popular England Fan song Swing Low, Sweet Chariot last year because it was written by a freed slave from 19th-century Oklahoma.
A Rugby Union survey found that 69% of rugby players believed the song should not be banned.
The decision to remain standing has received a mixed reaction on social media, with one fan tweeting: “Enough’s enough. BLM has put race relations back 30 years.”
But another stated: “Taking the knee is a ridiculously easy display against racial violence and the fact that some people find it difficult to do is beyond me. If the biggest problem you have in your life is having to kneel for 10 seconds then my heart truly bleeds.”
