De Villiers cool on overseas Boks

Peter de Villiers: Happy to pick 'locals'

Overseas-based South African rugby players should not expect to receive a Springbok call-up from coach Peter de Villiers.

De Villiers is expected to announce his squad for the June Tests at the end of the Super 14 league phase, the weekend of 16-17 May.

Although the South African Rugby Union (SARU) has confirmed that players based overseas are eligible for selection, the new Springbok coach has expressed reluctance to pick players not performing in the Super 14.

The board of SA Rugby has limited De Villiers from calling up more than three players not plying their trade in the Republic.

While Clermont hooker John Smit has already been announced as captain, De Villiers seems to be closing the door on overseas players hoping to take the remaining two spots.

The Springbok coach has hinted that younger players proving themselves in the Super 14 will be preferred to the likes of Butch James, Victor Matfield and Percy Montgomery.

"Even if I wanted to choose a whole lot of overseas based players, I cannot make that decision," De Villiers told SuperRugby.

"The board ruling is that there should be a maximum of three, and I intend adhering to it. There may not even be as many as three because there are a lot of youngsters playing well."

De Villiers began his tenure as Springbok coach promising continuity and emphasising the need to keep the team that won the World Cup together, but now seems to be singing a slightly different tune.

A clear message has been sent out that only under exceptional circumstances will overseas players be considered and players with Springbok ambitions would serve them better by playing in South Africa.

"The players are adults, and if they want to leave then that is their right," said De Villiers.

"They must take responsibility for what they do. If players are allowed to just leave the country willy-nilly and then still be selected for the Springboks, then a lot of other players will leave. And then what will we be left with?

"It is a player's right to leave, but he has to realise his decision will have repercussions."

De Villiers confirmed that he is preparing for the home Tests against Wales and Italy on his own as he is still unclear on who his fellow national selectors will be.

His two assistant coaches, expected to be Dick Muir and Gary Gold, are still committed to the Super 14 but he hopes that the rest of his management team will be finalised within the next two weeks.

"Dick is overseas at the moment with the Sharks so obviously we are having a bit of difficulty tying up a few contractual nitty-gritties, but I don't anticipate any problems," said De Villiers.

De Villiers also confirmed that his assistants will have a far greater say in the selection of his team than Gert Smal and Allister Coetzee had under Jake White.