The Springboks coach Peter de Villiers has defended his decision to leave 21 front line players at home for the Tri-Nations away leg, saying they were physically wrecks after the expanded Super Rugby season.
The SANZAR competition included one more franchise this year and ran for an extra five weeks.
As a typical example of the greater intensity of the competition, de Villiers says he's included
Morne Steyn in his touring squad because all the other first fives are injured. de Villiers says he's acting in the best interests of players careers.
Meanwhile halfback Ruan Pienaar says a number of younger players will have a chance to play their way into the World Cup squad during the Tri-Nations.
