18/03/2008 22:25

Pieter Jordaan

Bloemfontein - Springbok coach Peter de Villiers has been advised to find ways of resting South Africa's top rugby players.

Derik Coetzee, the national team's conditioning chief at the 2007 World Cup tournament, says De Villiers should be extremely concerned.

"One cannot expect the impossible. A tournament such as that takes its toll and the players did not really have a break. They started preparing for the Super 14," Dr Coetzee said on Tuesday.

"They need time to recover but they play too much rugby," Coetzee said. "This includes matches and training; it's too much."

He responded to indications that the SA Super 14 teams and the Springboks could be paying dearly for last year's World Cup success.

The form of several World Cup stars and the number of injuries among top players have triggered alarm bells.

Only five of the 32 World Cup Springboks who are still active have not been injured since the tournament in France.

André Pretorius, Wayne Julies, Jaque Fourie and CJ van der Linde have not played at all this season.

'Dark days because of injuries'

Bryan Habana, Akona Ndungane, Juan Smith, Bakkies Botha and Ruan Pienaar have all been out of rugby for two or three weeks even though the season has hardly started.

Bismarck du Plessis missed the Sharks' match against the Bulls as a result of an injury.

The picture looks even worse for those who started playing abroad immediately after the World Cup tournament.

Springbok captain John Smit missed several weeks with a knee injury and Butch James and Gary Botha were unable to play for their English clubs for about two months as a result of injuries.

Last weekend, Victor Matfield suffered a knee injury in France. He may be out for a month.

Ashwin Willemse needed surgery for a shoulder problem last week after being injured in a match for Biarritz.

Percy Montgomery, Fourie du Preez, Danie Rosouw, Wikus van Heerden, BJ Botha and Gurthrö Steenkamp missed the end-of-the-year Springbok tour as a result of injuries they suffered in France.

And Jean de Villiers returned to South Africa soon after the start of the World Cup, suffering from an arm injury.

Only five World Cup Springboks seem to have remained injury free. They are Jannie du Plessis, Ricky Januarie, Johann Muller, Albert van den Berg and Frans Steyn.

"The Springboks performed well in last year's Super 14 because they had not played in the previous Currie Cup competition," says Coetzee.

"The players need time to recover, physically and psychologically, or they won't be able to perform at their best.

"This is a major concern. I foresee dark days because of injuries."