There has been more backbiting than celebrating in South Africa since the Springboks won the World Cup less than four weeks ago, and what was planned as a short celebratory trip to Britain this month is threatening to turn into what has become the customary close-season tour, with reserve players abounding.
Four of South Africa's starting line-up against England in the World Cup final in Paris - Os du Randt, Butch James, Percy Montgomery and Danie Rossouw - have already made themselves unavailable for the matches against Wales in Cardiff and the Barbarians at Twickenham, and the lock Victor Matfield has asked for the rest of the month off so that he can spend time with his family discussing whether he should take up the offer of a contract from Toulon.
Two World Cup squad players, Wickus van Heerden and Gurthro Steenkamp, have been ruled out by injury. The Springboks had not embarked on their tour of South Africa last month to parade the Webb Ellis Cup when the head coach, Jake White, was told that his contract would not be renewed and some in the country have expressed fears that the team may go the way of the 2003 winners, England, and implode at their moment of triumph. White, who has said he would like to coach England, is being threatened with a ban from international rugby by the South African Rugby Union because of remarks he made in his recently published autobiography.
"I have not read the book, only extracts in newspapers," said the SARU vice president, Koos Basson. "If someone about whom negative comments were made complains, we will investigate. We may also decide to pursue our own action. It is too early to say whether any steps will be taken but if they are they may apply internationally and not just in South Africa."
The newspaper serialisation centred on a claim made by White that he was told his job would be secure if he included the back-row Luke Watson in the World Cup squad. Watson's father Cheeky, an anti-apartheid activist in the 1970s who refused to play rugby for whites-only teams, was last week co-opted on to SARU's president's council, the body which last month ruled that White could not serve another term as head coach because he had not met the deadline for applications. White reignited the Watson row this week when he said in a radio interview that the forward was "the most overrated player I have seen at this level".
Ulster's head coach, Mark McCall, yesterday resigned after a poor run of results domestically and in the Heineken Cup. Jonny Wilkinson will again be missing from the Newcastle side tomorrow night for the European Challenge Cup clash against Brive because the ankle he injured on World Cup duty is still giving him problems. Paul Volley, the Harlequins captain, will appear before a disciplinary committee in Dublin today having been cited after a brawl with the Italian flanker Mauro Bergamasco during the club's Heineken Cup defeat at Stade Français last weekend.
