Rugby:South Africa's conditioning coach Neels Liebel today said he had facts to show northern hemisphere rugby was slower than the game played in the southern hemisphere.
Liebel said the new global positioning system (GPS) the Springboks are using to track the movement of players during games and training had proved those based in Europe were behind the pace of locally-based internationals.
Coach de Villiers has fielded five European-based players this season - props CJ van der Linde (formerly of Leinster) and BJ Botha (Ulster), number eight Joe van Niekerk (Toulon), fullback Francois Steyn (Racing Metro) and outhalf Butch James (Bath).
"This GPS system allows us to do very close monitoring of the players, the distance they run, the pace they are running, and for guys like BJ and CJ, their clubs are also on the system and they have sent us all their data," Liebel said.
"From all this we have seen the players from overseas are playing at about half the intensity of the Super 14 in terms of the speed they play at. It's a slower game there and players from there struggle to keep up with the pace."
Van der Linde and James are in the squad to face New Zealand in the Tri-Nations in Johannesburg on Saturday.
"It's taken four or five weeks for us to get those (European-based) players to the intensity we wanted. Before that they were not getting to the ball quickly enough," added Liebel.
"There's nothing wrong with their conditioning, it's just the game is different in the northern hemisphere, they play closer to the rucks, they don't often move the ball further than five or six metres from the ruck."
Liebel also defended Springbok captain John Smit, who is due to win his 100th cap on Saturday but has been under-fire over his form and fitness.
"John is in a good physical condition, the distance he's been running and the pace he's been running are up there with his usual stats," said Liebel.
"His weight is the same as it has been the last two or three years and with the exact same fat percentage. So I have no concerns about his fitness at all."
There have also been suggestions of a southern hemisphere split after South Africa conceded it was exploring the possibility of breaking away from SANZAR (South Africa, New Zealand and Australia Rugby).
Dr Jan Marais, chairman of the South African Rugby Union (SARU), said the relationship with counterparts from Australia and New Zealand, the other two countries that are part of SANZAR, the body that governs the sport in the three nations, had taken a knock in recent months.
He revealed that a decision had been made at the executive council meeting of SARU last week to look at alternatives to the Tri Nations and Super Rugby tournaments beyond 2015 - when a broadcast deal between the three member unions expires.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, he said: "The council gave the instruction that we should look at other possibilities beyond 2015.
"We can't do anything about the current agreement because we are locked in until the contract expires. However, there is the strong feeling that we should at least look at possibilities we can explore at the conclusion of our current broadcasting deal."
The move comes after several conflicts of ideas in recent months, the most notable being SARU's grizzles about referees in the away games of the Tri Nations where northern hemisphere referees were in possession of the whistle.
Other problems that have arisen include the charge of misconduct against coach Peter de Villiers, disciplinary hearings that went against South African players and a letter from SANZAR regarding SARU president Oregan Hoskins' "declaration of war" comments over the de Villiers charge.
But Marais insisted there was nothing concrete at the moment, saying that things may change over the next few years.
"We won't automatically opt for a renewal of the current deal,” he added. "I think by then anyway we'll have new people running the game but given the present climate we have at least decided to start looking at options."
Hoskins, though, was much more conciliatory.
He said: "Tri Nations rugby is a robust game and we have robust conversations in the boardroom and occasionally knock each other down and have to pick each other up, dust ourselves off and get on with it.
"But it has been like that since day one. The bottom line is that this is the toughest rugby competition in the world and we're fully part of it with our neighbours.
"In that spirit, we'll be having discussions with New Zealand and Australia when they're over here and after that we'll get on with ensuring we continue to produce the best rugby tournaments in the world."
Both tournaments under the SANZAR banner are due to be expanded in the coming years – the Super 14 will become the Super 15 in 2011 after the addition of the Melbourne Rebels, while Argentina will join an expanded Four Nations from 2012.