The pressure on Springbok coach Peter de Villiers and his assistants to keep their jobs appears to have brought about a change in plan and prompted them to opt for the strongest available team for South Africa’s Grand Slam tour next month. Sport24's Rudolph Lake reports.
"Sport24 understands that De Villiers decided to pick the strongest possible Bok team following discussions with senior players and rugby bosses the past week.
The Boks also play the Barbarians in the first week of December, but are unlikely to field a full-strength side then.
De Villiers and his two assistants, Dick Muir and Gary Gold, came under fire the past few weeks about the Springboks’ weak performances against New Zealand and Australia in the Tri-Nations. The Boks could win only one of their six Tests against the All Blacks and Wallabies.
De Villiers dodged the axe, while Gold and Muir stayed only because suitable replacements could not be found.
The South African Rugby Union (SARU) are, however, looking at how the Springbok coaching team can be strengthened, but are experiencing problems in convincing coaches to help the national team."
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