World champions South Africa have named a 26-man squad with just two men who did not make the World Cup for their two-match tour of England and Wales.

 
But Percy Montgomery, Os du Randt, Bob Skinstad, Butch James, Gary Botha, Ashwin Willemse, BJ Botha, Jean de Villiers and Pierre Spies are missing.

Conrad Jantjes and Heinke van der Merwe were the only men not involved in the Springboks’ march to France 2007 glory.

South Africa play Wales on 24 November and the Barbarians on 1 December.
 
The first match at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium for the newly inaugurated Prince William Cup will be Wales caretaker coach Nigel Davies’ only game in charge of the national side.

The Barbarians clash at Twickenham has been hit by controversy, with Premier Rugby refusing to allow players from the Guinness Premiership to compete.

Club commitments denied the Boks the services of James, Gary Botha and Willemse, but Victor Matfield and captain John Smit are available despite having signed for French sides.

Skinstad and du Randt have both retired, while injury keeps out Montgomery, BJ Botha, de Villiers and Spies.

Star winger Bryan Habana travels, having just added the award of South Africa’s best player for 2007 to his International Rugby Board player of the year gong.

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South Africa squad to tour England and Wales:

Forwards: Bakkies Botha, Schalk Burger, Bismarck du Plessis, Jannie du Plessis, Victor Matfield, Johann Muller, Danie Roussouw, John Smit (capt), Juan Smith, Gurthro Steenkamp, Albert van den Berg, Wickus van Heerden, CJ van der Linde, Heinke van der Merwe.

Backs: Fourie du Preez, Jaque Fourie, Bryan Habana, Conrad Jantjes, Ricky Januarie, Wayne Julies, Akona Ndungane, Wynand Olivier, Ruan Pienaar, JP Pietersen, Andre Pretorius, Francois Steyn.

South African forward Bobby Skinstad has announced he has retired from rugby for good after helping the Springboks win the 2007 World Cup.

 
Former Boks captain Skinstad, 31, came out of retirement in June 2007, having played his last Test in 2003.

“I leave the game on my terms and with the most wonderful memory of experiencing the thrill of a winning World Cup campaign,” said Skinstad.

His last game was as a reserve in the 37-13 semi-final win over Argentina.

Skinstad, who could play as both a flanker and number eight, helped South Africa reach the World Cup semi-finals in 1999, but missed the 2003 tournament after breaking his forearm.

He came to Britain and played briefly for Newport-Gwent Dragons and then for Richmond in London South-East Division 1 as well as also working as a TV analyst.
 
But Skinstad was lured back to South Africa by former coach Jake White. He helped the Sharks make this year’s Super 14 final and was back in the Springboks side in June.

Skinstad added: “I never doubted my desire to want to play for the Springboks again, but knew it was a privilege that had to be earned.

“I want to say a special thanks to the coaches, conditioning staff and players at the Sharks who embraced my presence and reaffirmed my belief that nothing is impossible.”

Zimbabwe-born Skinstad made his debut as a reserve against England in 1997 – a 29-11 win at Twickenham – and went on to captain South Africa 12 times, scoring 11 tries.

He captained the team in the 2007 World Cup first-round match against Tonga, but was not a regular in the starting line-up during the tournament and failed to make the bench for the final against England.

In all, Skinstad played in 42 tests for South Africa, captaining the Springboks on 12 occasions.

South Africa have announced Jake White will not stay as Springboks coach despite leading them to victory in the World Cup final against England.

 
SA Rugby have drawn up a shortlist of four possible replacements for the 43-year-old White.

An SA Rugby panel met on Monday to discuss the search for a coach.

“It was confirmed that Jake White did not apply for the position and he was therefore not considered,” SA rugby said in a statement.

White’s contract officially ends on New Year’s Eve and he is due to take South Africa to Europe for matches against Wales on 24 November and the Barbarians a week later.

The four candidates to replace White as Springboks boss will not be announced until they have been informed they have made the shortlist.

But those thought to be under consideration are black coaches Chester Williams, a 1995 World Cup winner, Springbok backs coach Allister Coetzee and Pieter de Villiers, the national Under-21 and Emerging Springboks coach.

Blue Bulls boss Heyneke Meyer is another name in the frame.

The situation surrounding the Springboks job is complicated by the fact that White reportedly has a clause in his contract allowing him to be reconsidered for the position without reapplying.

 SA Rugby have refused to say whether White’s name would be added to the shortlist at a future date.

The governing body added that White has not yet decided where his coaching future lies, although he has said he wishes to continue at international level.

He has expressed an interest in coaching England, who are currently led by Brian Ashton, should the position become available.

Ashton’s rolling contract runs until the end of this year, and his future will not be decided until a thorough review of England’s World Cup campaign has been undertaken.

On Sunday White told the BBC: “England is probably one job most international coaches wouldn’t mind taking because it’s a power that can become a huge force.

“I would really like to stay in international rugby. Once it’s in your blood, it’s in your blood.”

White has also held preliminary talks with Wales about their vacant head coach’s job after the departure of Gareth Jenkins, while Australia are looking for a new coach to replace John Connelly.

White took charge of the Boks in 2004 and oversaw a stunning transformation in their fortunes, leading them to the Tri-Nations title that year.

He nearly lost his job after defeat by England in 2006 but their revival culminated in the 15-6 win over England in the World Cup final nine days ago.

Throughout his time in charge White has had to deal with the political pressures connected with the on-going transformation debate, which concerns how to develop a side with more non-white players in the team.

In a country where the white population makes up just under 10% of the population the XV which started the World Cup final contained two non-white players.

The World Cup-winning South African rugby team have been criticised for dropping the mainly black township of Soweto from their victory parade.
 
The Springboks, who have returned to a heroes’ welcome, will not tour the Johannesburg suburb, which initially featured on their itinerary.

A media manager for the SA Rugby Federation (Sarfu) told AFP agency the decision was a matter of “logistics”.

Authorities have accused Sarfu of not attracting enough black players.

After their rapturous welcome home on Tuesday, the Springboks have been forced onto the back foot, trying to explain what has already been branded by some as a snub to Soweto.

“Unfortunately, while that was the initial plan, the parade does not include Soweto,” Sarfu media manager Rayaan Adriaanse said.

“It’s simply a matter of logistics and time constraints. We would have liked to go to possibly the entire country but with logistics it’s just not possible.”

The decision was seen as a bitter blow by the small rugby community from Soweto.

“We’re devastated about it. We were expecting to see our heroes within the backyard of Soweto,” Johannes Mhlongo – captain of the Soweto Rugby Club (the township’s only rugby club) told the BBC.

“We’ve been worshipping them, supporting them throughout the World Cup and at this stage we should be taking the game to the people.”

 Tsietsi Louw, a lawmaker for the ruling African National Congress (ANC), blasted the decision to drop Soweto from the victory parade as “arrogance”.
Habana (L) and Pietersen are the two non-white players in the first XV
“During the finals, the fan parks were filled with black people. Township shebeens [bars] ran out of drinks with blacks supporting their team,” he told AFP.

Rugby has traditionally been a non-black sport since the days of the apartheid regime.

After the dismantling of white minority rule the situation changed, but not enough, according to the authorities.

“This victory should herald a new era – an era in which we all embrace change and tackle the challenges still being faced by our rugby and sport in general,” Sports Minister Makhenkesi Stofile said after the Springboks defeated England 15-6 in the final of the World Cup on Saturday.

“Our victory during the 1995 World Cup offered us a window to see what South Africa can be. We did not build on that. May we not commit the same error after this second chance.”

Only two players, the two wingers Bryan Habana (recently declared World Player of 2007) and JP Pietersen, are non-white among the Springboks’ first XV.

Have a look at the magnificent trys and play by IRB player of the year Bryan Habana in the 2007 Rugby World Cup in this excellent video

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