By Ed King BBC Sport Online

Errol Tobias, the first non-white man to play for the South Africa rugby team, has called for the controversial quota system to be scrapped.

Tobias made his Springbok debut in 1981, at a time when rugby in the Republic was a predominantly whites-only sport.

At the end of apartheid, formal quotas were imposed at all levels of the game except Super 12 and Test level, to ensure black players were given the chance to play top-class rugby.

However, a 'gentleman's agreement' operates in the Super 12, which requires each side to field at least two black players.

There is also an unspoken understanding that the Springboks will not field an all-white side and have not done so for three years.

Speaking to BBC Sport Online, Tobias said he believed the system sends out the wrong message to South African rugby as a whole.

"I do not agree with the quota system, it was there for the first two years and it worked a bit," he said.

"But I just think that it says, in another kind of language, that all South Africans are not equal."

And the 52-year-old, who made six appearances for the Springboks between 1981 and 1984, says the country has a long way to go before the sport can call itself truly intergrated.

In particular, he says the country's coaching structure should be reformed to give black coaches more of a chance.

"I would love to see not just white coaches in the top jobs of the top sides, but black coaches participating as a whole in the running of rugby," he said.

"Black coaches have been pulled in to a certain level, but from there on it is just white coaches.

"I don't think coloured coaches have been given a good enough chance to show their metal and get experience at that level."

He added: "At this point of time I believe there are just six coaches involved with Currie Cup teams."