Selection headaches hurt White's preparation

Jake White is too enlightened a coach to consider himself in a no-win situation, but the rumpus in South Africa over the selection of the Springbok team for tomorrow's Test with England at Twickenham cannot possibly have made him feel better about life as he guides his young squad around the great rugby capitals of the British Isles. The question of whether Breyton Paulse, the 50-cap black wing from Western Province, should play against the world champions resulted in a sharp political divide back home and underlined the continuing stresses of rugby life in the republic.

Jake White is too enlightened a coach to consider himself in a no-win situation, but the rumpus in South Africa over the selection of the Springbok team for tomorrow's Test with England at Twickenham cannot possibly have made him feel better about life as he guides his young squad around the great rugby capitals of the British Isles. The question of whether Breyton Paulse, the 50-cap black wing from Western Province, should play against the world champions resulted in a sharp political divide back home and underlined the continuing stresses of rugby life in the republic.

White had planned to play the less experienced but more substantial Jaque Fourie ahead of Paulse in an effort to combat England's kicking game, but changed tack when another black wing, Ashwin Willemse, suffereda broken toe and was withdrawn from the tour. Paulse's demotion would have left only one non-white player, the tight-head prop Eddie Andrews, in a starting line-up that should, by unwritten agreement, always have at least two.

On Wednesday, the tour manager, Arthob Petersen, South Africa's longest-serving administrator, denied suggestions of political intervention in the issue. But yesterday, the chairman of the South African government's portfolio committee on sport, Butana Komphela, condemned the move to drop Paulse and raised the prospect of a new hard line on selection at Test level.

"We felt shock and dismay that black players were touring with the team but not playing, and we are pleased Paulse has come back in," he said. "When the Springboks left, we supported the inclusion of 11 black players in the squad, but said that figure of 11 must translate on to the field. These players must not just be tourists, singing in the stands while the others are playing. We will need a discussion when the Boks return, and might have to say that if five black players go on tour, then all five must play."

In response, the official opposition's spokesman on sport rejected Komphela's comments. "Transformation should mean more resources and opportunities for development, not quotas or changes to selection," said Donald Lee of the Democratic Alliance. "If the Boks lose to England, Jake White will be in the firing line for being too politically correct. We want to see the best team out on the field and we want to be a winning nation. He will pay the price if we don't beat England."

Meanwhile, a week of comic jousting between the Wales and New Zealand hierarchies took a more conciliatory turn when Mike Ruddock, the Welsh coach, paid public tribute to the contribution of his All Black counterparts, Graham Henry and Steve Hansen, to Red Dragon rugby during their stays in the principality. The two nations meet at the Millennium Stadium tomorrow, and Ruddock laid the home side's burgeoning confidence squarely at the door of his Antipodean predecessors.

Ruddock had been expected to succeed Kevin Bowring as coach in 1998, but the Welsh Rugby Union recruited Henry instead. Hansen took over in 2002, and it was not until last spring that the WRU finally turned to the man they had long identified as a potential top dog.

"The structural changes to the game here are down to Graham and Steve," Ruddock said. "Kevin Bowring is a great coach as well, but he struggled to get those changes implemented. I think any Welshman would have struggled to get them through. Let's face it, I am a beneficiary of their great work and I am forever indebted."