Although Australian and New Zealand rugby authorities are outraged about the Springbok ‘second team’ – the top 20 players will be left at home, ostensibly to rest them ahead of the World Cup in September – being sent to play the Wallabies and the All Blacks in the Tri-Nations, next month, Bok coach Jake White remains unrepentant.

Chairman of the Australian Rugby Union, Peter McGrath, was seeking an urgent meeting of Sanzar in a bid to overturn the move. He was supported by the chairman of the New Zealand union, Jock Hobbs. McGrath said: ‘The (Sanzar) agreement between us clearly calls for each nation to field its best team and with SA Rugby’s decision this is clearly not the case.’ Hobbs said he was surprised and disappointed. White said: ‘Our guys have been playing week in week out since February and it has now caught up with them.’ A report in The Times says the Australians, especially, will fear a small turnout at the huge Telstar Stadium in Sydney where the match on July 7 against the Boks is planned. Australian rugby, unlike New Zealand, is up against strong competition in rugby league and Aussie Rules and a weak Springbok team coming to play the Wallabies will undermine their marketing strategy.
Full report in The Times