MATT GITEAU’S chances of playing in a third Rugby World Cup have suffered a major blow after he was left out of Australia’s squad for Saturday’s Tri Nations opener against South Africa in Sydney.

SPRINGBOK coach Peter de Villiers has named 11 uncapped players in his preliminary 39-man training squad for their Grand Slam tour of Britain and Ireland.

SOUTH AFRICA lock Victor Matfield was yesterday despairing at the way Irish referees Alan Lewis and Alain Rolland have policed the breakdown, following his side’s second successive Tri Nations defeat to New Zealand in Wellington on Saturday.

SOUTH AFRICA out-half Morne Steyn insists there will be no knee-jerk reaction to last week’s Tri Nations destruction at the hands of the All Blacks when the sides meet again in Wellington tomorrow (8.35am).

FRANCE coach Marc Lièvremont blamed his team’s horrific opening 20 minutes for their 42-17 loss to South Africa in Cape Town on Saturday.

WORLD champions South Africa suffered a second successive loss on their northern hemisphere tour as France triumphed in Toulouse last night.

South Africa’s big names are back in the starting XV for the Test match against France on Friday.

SOUTH AFRICA coach Peter de Villiers has backed Jaque Fourie to fill the void created by the loss of centre Adi Jacobs for the Springboks’ Tri-Nations opener against New Zealand on Saturday.

THE smiles were back and promises kept as the 2009 British and Irish Lions produced the performance of this South African tour to emphatically avoid a whitewash at Ellis Park, Johannesburg on Saturday with a victory that highlighted just how unlucky they were to lose the three-game Test series.

Peter de Villiers has made 10 changes to his South Africa side to face the British and Irish Lions in the third Test at Ellis Park on Saturday.

PETER DE VILLIERS yesterday named two uncapped players in the South Africa squad to face the Lions in a three-match Test series to be played in late June and early July.

WYNAND OLIVIER has been named in the Bulls starting line-up for the Super 14 final against the Chiefs on Saturday, despite having yet to recover from a hip injury that kept him out of the semi-final last week.

GORDON D’ARCY’s slim Lions prospects were eliminated yesterday when head coach Ian McGeechan confirmed he would not be calling up a replacement for the injured Tom Shanklin.

JAKE WHITE ends his reign as South Africa coach ready to consider a host of job offers — including from Guinness Premiership clubs and a fourth division Welsh side.

EDDIE O’SULLIVAN’S campaign to repair the damage done by Ireland’s embarrassing World Cup and land the prized Lions job starts tomorrow.

WORLD Cup superstar Bryan Habana has led the tributes to departing Springboks coach Jake White, declaring: “He has taken us on an unbelievable journey.”

South Africa will field nine of their victorious World Cup final starting line-up against Wales at the Millennium Stadium.

Uncapped prop Heinke van der Merwe has been included in the South Africa squad for the clashes with Wales and the Barbarians.

South Africa coach Jake White has recalled prop CJ van der Linde for Sunday's World Cup semi-final against Argentina in Paris.

NEW ZEALAND have recalled their big stars for Sunday’s World Cup Pool C clash against Scotland at Murrayfield.

MARTIN CORRY claims England will “draw strength from adversity” when they go into battle as huge World Cup underdogs against South Africa tonight.

There were few surprise inclusions as South Africa named their 30-man World Cup squad today.

Victor Matfield will captain South Africa in their Tri-Nations clash against New Zealand in Durban on Saturday.

South Africa coach Jake White has handed Currie Cup player of the year Kabamba Floors his debut in a rejigged Springboks back row to face England this weekend.

South Africa team to face Ireland at Lansdowne Road on Saturday:

South Africa coach Jake White will make a late decision over his fly-half for the Tri-Nations clash against New Zealand at the Westpac Trust stadium in Wellington on Saturday.

WALLABIES sharpshooter Stirling Mortlock has vowed to improve his mediocre strike-rate as rain is set to make goal-kicking a key factor in this morning’s Tri-Nations clash against South Africa.