As a player, the end of apartheid came too late for Springbok coach Allister Coetzee.
Regarded by many as one of the best scrumhalves this country has ever produced, Coetzee hardly gets a mention when there is a debate about who is South Africa's best-ever No 9.
Coetzee was a stalwart of the non-racial Eastern Province and South African Rugby Union (Saru) team. A classy scrumhalf, who played with intelligence and skill. Perhaps not the biggest player on the field, but his bullet-like dive pass got him out of a pickle on a number of occasions.
He was also a great leader, guiding his Port Elizabeth club team - ironically named Wallabies - to many victories at the traditional Easter club rugby tournament for non-racial clubs at City Park in Cape Town.
So, for many experts, Coetzee was one of the top scrumhalves in South Africa during the darkest days of the country's history.
The picture, though, does become clearer when one talks about post-apartheid South Africa in the scrumhalf debates. Invariably, two players stand out above all when deliberating this topic.
The late Joost van Westhuizen and Fourie du Preez were the best scrumhalves of their generations. They were two players - in many ways vastly different in their approach - who were certain match-winners.
Van der Westhuizen was a big, physical scrumhalf, dangerous around the fringes, as his great try-scoring record will attest. He was also a top defender.
Possessing some wonderful touches, he could kick with both feet and had a great pass.
Just ask Jannie de Beer about the 1999 World Cup against England, when Joost set him up for five successful drop attempts in that quarterfinal.
Du Preez, on the other hand, was a master tactician. He was a guy who could read a match like a cheap novel. A guy who understood the concept of space, and when to attack it, and when not to attack it. He also had a massive boot, and took a lot of pressure off his flyhalves.
Apart from a fine attacking game, his passing was also crisp. But it was his ability to know who or where to pass to that probably set him apart from any other scrumhalf in the world during his playing days.
Unfortunately, though, there isn't another scrumhalf in the same class at these two great players in South Africa at the moment.
It's maybe unfair to compare the current generation of players to a Joost or a Fourie, but the fact is the No 9 position is becoming a bit of a problem in the country and for the Springboks in particular if the last few matches are anything to go by.
Players like Van der Westhuizen and Du Preez had it all, but today's players aren't quite the full package. They aren't match-winners, or players who can take a game by the scruff of the neck and drag it towards their side.
Ross Cronjé has been the best Bok scrumhalf this year after forming a top partnership with Elton Jantjies in Super Rugby.
The Boks were a lot better on attack against Australia this past Saturday, because his service was a lot quicker than FrancoisHougaard's, who has subsequently lost his place in the side after a rather poor performance in the Boks' 57-0 drubbing by the All Blacks in Albany.
Cronjé is a solid player, with better distribution than Hougaard, but, on the flipside, he doesn't have the Hougaard's pace or X-factor. Both players' kicking from the base is also average.
Rudi Paige was Du Preez's backup at the last World Cup and looked like a fine apprentice for the master scrumhalf. But his confidence took a bit of a dive after he was ill-treated by Meyer at that tournament.
Paige is probably the best tactical kicker of the current bunch of South African scrumhalves, while his service a few years ago was silky-smooth. But now, like the rest of his scrumhalf buddies, he is also talking a few steps before passing the ball, which is putting a lot of pressure on the Bok attack.
The fact is, both Van der Westhuizen and Du Preez had a massive influence on the Springboks' two World Cup wins in 1995 and 2007, respectively.
And the Boks are going to continue to struggle on attack, and tactically, if the No 9s don't come to the party sooner rather than later.
The 2019 World Cup in Japan is less than two years away, and the former classy scrumhalf Coetzee's dive pass must now find the next Joost and Fourie, and fast.