SA Rugby has refuted a report that former Springbok captain Francois Pienaar was not welcome to serve as national team manager.
The article, which appeared in Sunday’s Rapport newspaper, claimed the story came from a source within the Springbok camp currently taking place in Bloemfontein.
SA Rugby said on Wednesday they had undertaken an investigation into the source of the information and ”up to now, no evidence has been found pointing to such information emanating from the Springbok camp or any official or employee of SA Rugby”.
”We wish to state categorically that SA Rugby distances itself from the information in that news report. For the record, Francois Pienaar was never a subject of discussions at any board meeting since the election of the new leadership.
”We therefore find it mischievous and irresponsible to bring Mr Pienaar’s name to a matter he has not been involved in.
”It is equally unacceptable that Springbok players should be drawn into a story that is false and unsubstantiated from faceless sources that are out to confuse members of the public.”
SA Rugby went on to say that Pienaar was held in very high regard by the organisation and they would continue to seek his expertise and participation — as was the case with the Rugby World Cup bid — where they believed he could play a role. — Sapa