Picture: Tshidiso Mokhoanatse at the High Court in Pretoria with some of his supporters in the rugby case. (Thomas Hartleb, News24)

Pretoria – The man trying to stop the Springboks from leaving South Africa needs to find a lawyer, a judge cautioned him on Wednesday, as he is jumping into waters where there are “fish that bite”.

“You may find that you are traversing an area which is like a pond on the surface. It looks calm, but underneath the waters flow with tremendous force, if you are not familiar with that terrain,” Judge Ntendeya Mavundla cautioned Tshidiso Mokhoanatse.

He was referring to the debate about transformation in sport, and society in general.

The leader of the Agency for New Agenda party was about to jump into the deep end and tackle the case on his own, when Mavundla advised him it would be best to get a “scuba diver” to help him.

Mavundla stood the matter down until 14:00 for a lawyer from the Bar Council or Law Society to help him.

A lawyer promptly rose and told Mavundla he was available. He was one of six senior members of the Bar Council, but first needed to discuss the matter with its chair and deputy chair.

Mokhoanatse wants the court to stop the Springbok rugby team from competing in the Rugby World Cup, as he says rugby administrators and the sports minister have failed in their constitutional duty to include more black players.