South Africa team manager Arthob Petersen has insisted there was no external pressure to pick Breyton Paulse for Saturday’s Twickenham Test against world champions England after coach Jake White admitted he was thinking of dropping the experienced wing.
The Tri-Nations champions have made just one change from the side defeated 17-12 by Ireland in Dublin on Saturday — a result that ended their hopes of a grand slam.
Jean de Villiers has replaced left wing Ashwin Willemse, out with a broken toe, but White had been set to make a change on the other flank too after Paulse, the first black South African to win 50 caps, was demoted from first-team training on Tuesday, with Jaque Fourie taking his place.
White told reporters at the squad’s hotel in London on Wednesday he was tempted to pick Fourie for his extra height as a defence against England’s tactic of high crossfield kicks.
But Fourie’s inclusion would have meant, with Willemse injured, that there was only one black player in the starting side — prop Eddie Andrews.
That would have been embarrassing for Springbok chiefs who have signed up to a policy of ”transformation” designed to encourage more black players into what was seen as the most white of all sports in the apartheid era.
The position was summed up earlier in the year by South African Rugby Football Union president Brian van Rooyen, who said ”never again will there be just one black player in the Springbok team”.
But Petersen, who is himself black, insisted the retention of Paulse had been a decision taken by the tour party themselves.
”We haven’t experienced any intervention with regard to the side. It was felt it would be in the best of interest to stick with the experienced players who have performed with distinction for us over a long period of time,” he said.
”Initially, there were some other intentions with regards to team selection but subsequently it was felt it would be better to stick with what we had against Ireland. This decision was taken early this [Wednesday] morning,” added Petersen, South Africa’s longest-serving current rugby administrator.
And White insisted: ”We live in a completely different environment and I bought into those sorts of parameters when I took the job.
”But we are still talking about a backline which won the Tri-Nations. It’s not as though we’re running around with people who don’t know what they are doing.”
He added: ”England like to kick across the field, and because of that we thought we might need Jaque’s height.
”But he’s also only 21 years old, so he’s likely to be around until the 2007 World Cup. He understands the situation.” — Sapa-AFP
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