South Africa's first black rugby boss Peter de Villiers said on Thursday that players would continue to be picked on rugby criteria.


De Villiers, successor to World Cup-winning coach Jake White, was addressing fears that his appointment could mean the break-up of the predominantly white Springboks team.

"There is no free ticket for any black player in this country to become a Springbok," he told radio listeners. "I never worked with black players and I never worked with white players.
"I only worked with rugby players throughout my career. At one stage there was a great bunch of black players I coached, at another stage there was a great bunch of white players."
He added: "I never, never see colour and a lot of players can tell you that."

De Villiers was named as successor to White on Wednesday, becoming South Africa's first black coach in 116 years of test rugby.

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