From the BBC website

South Africa will field a team stripped of a host of home-based players when they face Wales in Cardiff in June.

Coach Peter de Villiers has confirmed only two players per Super 14 franchise will be picked for the squad.

The rest of the squad will be chosen from players exiled in Europe in what will be a pre-World Cup trial for them.

The World Cup holders’ coach said: “I would be skinned by the media if I didn’t take the opportunity to look at players based in Europe.”

The Saturday, 5 June clash at the Millennium Stadium comes just five days after the completion of the current Super 14 season.

De Villiers is unwilling to rely on his home-based players, especially ahead of a busy pre-World Cup season that will see the world champions play 14 Tests.

Instead De Villiers will focus his attention on the Tri-Nations campaign, which begins when the Springboks play New Zealand in Auckland on July 10.

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“Our focus will definitely be on the Tri-Nations this year, given that we play our first game of the tournament at the same venue where we’ll be based for next year’s World Cup.

“We’d be stupid not to focus on that game and, by extension, on the entire Tri-Nations tournament.

“I will take only two (contracted) Boks to Wales from each franchise, at most.”

The South African Rugby Union has a policy of not selecting players plying their trade abroad.

But De Villiers will overlook that and give the likes of BJ Botha, CJ van der Linde, Wikus van Heerden, Butch James, Jean de Villiers and Frans Steyn a chance to forward their claims for a World Cup place.

“By choosing overseas-based players for the Wales Test we won’t be putting the Springbok brand at risk,” said De Villiers.

“Instead, it will be an opportunity for us. We won’t have another chance to look at these players and at our depth again.

“I have to think about what will be best for the Springboks with a view to the World Cup, and I would be skinned by the media if I didn’t take the opportunity to look at players based in Cardiff.

“I’m loath to say it, but this could be a one-off trial for players overseas to push for a World Cup place.”

Argentina is already a strong rugby nation with alot of people playing rugby. They finished third in the last world cup but still people are saying they’re not being treated fairly. Personally I’d prefer to see the IRB put money into places like Uruguay, Russia, Georgia, Germany and other developing nations. Once they become competitive on the international stage then they’ve reached their goal.

Its when Aus/NZ need 4 log points to take the tri nations from SA in the last game of the competition and Argentina manage to have a blinder ala the World cup opener and sneak a win or a draw.

I think the Argies are a much more formidable unit than the Italians and comparing them is an excersise in futility.

TheTackler only believes in issues surrounding travelling if his team lose…

Welcome Argentina

Yes the core and style of a national team invariably evolves from a solid team. Crusaders, Brumbies and now Bulls.

Yeah, and there are Piranha’s and bikini-whale’s as well.

B52′s?

We already are beating the Boks regurlarly…whats your point?

# 102

Perhaps the weakness of Capitalism?

Charo, I got to go, must be up by 05h30 tomorrow.

Just quickly, something completely different, here are the summarised findings on the Lobster study I promised you:

“West Coast Rock Lobster is primarily a predator feeding extensively on Ribbed Mussels. It’s remains were found as the major constituent in 97% of the rock-lobster stomachs examined. It also feeds to a lesser extend on sea urchins, abalone (!), crabs, kelp and polychaete worms”.

It does not mean that RL will not go for other stuff like “corpses/sewerage” etc as scavenging behaviour is well developed amongst them.

The bottom line is that as long as you dive for RL in areas where there are plenty mussels you are unlikely to become indirectly a cannibal

Cheers, nice chatting.

a bit of a convoluted pc way of saying that the stirrers who arrived probably wouldn’t have the capacity or willpower to start their own blog.

my cynical opinion

cheers poppa sleep deep.
i will be hitting the sack soon as well – need an early start to make up for playing golf tomorrow arvie

rob,

i was a bit taken aback when the split happened as well.

but later, on reflection, to me it almost mirrored social and political life in sa.

in day to day life we see more of the “haves” moving to the private sector for services normally provided by the public sector eg health, education, security.

the govt has been woeful in trying to provide these basic rights – so the “have nots” suffer.

why? because the “have nots” do not have the will or the ability to provide for themselves.

sad state of affairs

cheers