Springbok coach told he is embarrassing

Springboks coach Peter de Villiers has been told to stop making embarrassing statements to the media.

De Villiers landed himself in trouble during the Lions series when he used a black-white mechanic analogy with racial undertones to defend halfback Ricky Januarie's inclusion in the squad.

He went on to infuriate the Lions by defending the actions of rugged flanker Schalk Burger, who was banned for eight weeks for eye gouging.

De Villiers was given a dressing down when he met with South African Rugby Union (Saru) officials this week, local media reported today.

"The assessment committee advised Peter to refrain from statements involving the Bible and to generally be more careful about what he says," Saru president Oregan Hoskins told the Sunday Times.

"We explained where he could have used a different approach. One example was the statement about the mechanic when he tried to defend Ricky Januarie's selection.

"We made it clear the media wasn't there to fight with him and that they just report what they see and hear.

"We spent almost a day with Peter and had quite a productive meeting. I think he can put the exercise to good use."

The All Blacks arrived in Pretoria this morning to prepare for their first of two Investec Tri Nations matches against South Africa on successive weekends.

The first is in Bloemfontein on Sunday morning (NZT), with the second in Durban a week later.

Skipper Richie McCaw, centre Conrad Smith and lock Isaac Ross were the only players nursing minor injuries following Saturday night's 22-16 win over Australia.

"We're not too bad really. Richie and Conrad have both got corked thighs -- they should be okay," assistant coach Steve Hansen said.
 
" We'll see how they are over the next couple of days but they should be right to play.

"Isaac has got a bit of a strained knee, so again we will see how he comes through the flight but at this stage he's looking like he will be available too. So we should have the whole compliment of people."

The squad are expected to spend the next couple of days recovering from travel before training ramps up on Wednesday.

Graham Henry will name the All Blacks side around midnight on Wednesday (NZT) while the Springboks are expected to release theirs earlier that day.