The Australian Rugby Union wants SANZAR to investigate whether South Africa's mass player withdrawals for their upcoming Tri-Nations encounters in Australia and New Zealand are legitimate.
The Springboks are set to field a second-string side against the Wallabies in Sydney on the 23rd of this month after team manager Andy Marinos said 21 of their preliminary World Cup squad were injured and unavailable for their opening two away matches in the Tri-Nations.
It leaves just first five Morne Steyn, hooker and captain John Smit and No.8 Pierre Spies as probable first-choice players in contention when the squad is named on Saturday for the Tests in Sydney and Wellington.
The ARUs chief executive John O'Neill hasn't forgotten that in 2007 when the Springboks, in a bid to keep their best players fresh ahead of the World Cup, selected a second-string squad for their Tri-Nations clash in Australia.
