17 Jul 2011

Boks' travel plans hit by hot engine

8:18 am on 17 July 2011

The South African rugby team's had its travel plans disrupted by an overheating engine but Australia's Qantas airline sent a new plane to pick the team up.

The Springboks were due to land in Sydney on Saturday afternoon for next weekend's Tri-Nations opener - but the Boeing 747 experienced an increase in vibration and temperature within about an hour of the flight and had to land back in Johannesburg just two hours after take-off.

A new aircraft picked up the team. Qantas is a major sponsor of the Wallabies.