Springbok coach Jake White is to pay a courtesy call on President Thabo Mbeki on Friday, a presidential spokesperson said.
Spokesperson in the Presidency Mukoni Ratshitanga said the ”courtesy call” between the two would take place in Cape Town, either at the president’s office or his residence.
This follows reports that White was seeking Mbeki’s intervention as pressure mounted on White to resign.
In the meantime, White is to appear will before South African Rugby Union managing director Jonathan Stones on Monday in connection with an incident in which he allegedly verbally abused a journalist.
The journalist, Adnaan Mohamed of Die Son, has laid a complaint of assault with police in Johannesburg against Collin Francke, one-time masseur for Mamelodi Sundowns, for allegedly attacking him in a toilet at a News Café outlet in Sandton on Thursday.
In his affidavit, Mohamed claims White questioned him about his ”negative reporting” of the Springboks and White personally.
Later in the evening, Mohamed claims a third party, Francke, who had been sitting at White’s table, assaulted him.
Mohamed said he believed Francke’s actions were a direct result of White’s earlier altercation with him. — Sapa