- SA Rugby director of rugby Rassie Erasmus said players won't be withdrawn from their franchises for this coming week's set of matches.
- The Sharks, who face the Bulls at Kings Park on Saturday in what will be a Rainbow Cup SA final, have nine players in the Springbok squad for the British and Irish Lions series.
- The threat of players being injured is a real one, with Duane Vermeulen limping off on Friday against the Stormers being an example.
SA Rugby director of rugby Rassie Erasmus said they will not be withdrawing the Springbok players from the final round of the Rainbow Cup SA.
That means the Bulls and the Sharks will be able to pick their best players for what will be the tournament-deciding game when the sides meet at Kings Park on Saturday evening.
The Sharks have nine players in the 46-man British and Irish Lions squad, including captain Lukhanyo Am, winger Makazole Mapimpi and loose forward Siya Kolisi, who is the Springbok captain.
The Bulls have four, but critically one of them in Duane Vermeulen sustained an injury in the Bulls 31-27 win against the Stormers on Friday evening.
"It would be nice, but I have been on the other side of the franchise coaching wagon and they are coaches with families, contracts, and performance clauses," Erasmus said.
"It sounds very easy to do so and I think we can, but we wouldn't do so because we feel it is unfair.
"We quickly had to make a plan when we realised that we were going to have double round trial games for local players as those games were strength vs strength."
Erasmus said the withdrawal of players would put coaches under significant pressure to produce results without their best players.
For example, Sean Everitt had to field a team sans Curwin Bosch, Kolisi and Am for their game against the Lions on Saturday.
It was a game they went on to win comfortably (33-21) at Ellis Park to ensure they're still in with a shout in the Rainbow Cup SA.
The Bulls, who only lost four players to the Bok squad, are a far tougher proposition to handle and have had the measure of the Sharks.
"That'll put a lot of coaches under pressure. [If] Morne Steyn had to rest in one game and didn't make the squad," Erasmus said.
"You can understand what a local coach would be thinking if I rest a player, only for me not to select that particular player. However, that was necessitated by the cancellation of the Rainbow Cup.
"In theory, it works, but it disadvantages coaches and a number of other stakeholders."
Springbok squad:
Forwards
Thomas du Toit, Steven Kitshoff, Vincent Koch, Frans Malherbe, Ox Nche, Trevor Nyakane, Coenie Oosthuizen, Joseph Dweba, Malcolm Marx, Bongi Mbonambi, Scarra Ntubeni, Lood de Jager, Eben Etzebeth, Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, Franco Mostert, Marvin Orie, RG Snyman, Dan du Preez, Jean-Luc du Preez, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Rynhardt Elstadt, Siya Kolisi, Kwagga Smith, Marco van Staden, Duane Vermeulen, Jasper Wiese
Backs
Faf de Klerk, Herschel Jantjies, Sanele Nohamba, Cobus Reinach, Elton Jantjies, Handre Pollard, Morne Steyn, Lukhanyo Am, Damian de Allende, Jesse Kriel, Wandisile Simelane, Frans Steyn, Aphelele Fassi, Cheslin Kolbe, Willie le Roux, Makazole Mapimpi, Sbu Nkosi, Yaw Penxe, Rosko Specman, Damian Willemse