Barry Coughlan, Pretoria

SPRINGBOK coach Peter de Villiers clearly care much for public opinion or political correctness in South Africa, based on his comments earlier this week about his decision to replace Fourie du Preez at scrum half with Ricky Januarie for Saturday's second test.

De Villiers reacted briskly to questions about his judgement with accusations of racism in the South African press, after their condemnation of the du Preez substitution in the opening Test against the British and Irish Lions.

He barked: “I’m not concerned about Ricky’s form. What I learned in South Africa is if you take your car to a garage and the owner is a black man and they mess it up, you never go back to that garage. If the owner is white, you say, 'ok, they made a mistake' and you go back again. That is how some people live their lives in this country.  I respect opinions, but it doesn’t mean I should listen to them!”

 Meanwhile a theft from a hotel room of Egyptian football players by a group of prostitutes has evoked a strong reaction here, even making front page news in one newspaper.

The South African authorities, under strong pressure to reduce the crime rate prior to next year’s soccer World Cup, have come out fighting, saying that if anyone brings ladies of the night back to their room, well, what do they expect...?

“What happened in the hotel that night is not an indication of what people should expect next year, but it’s a silly thing do – in any country,” said deputy Police Minister Fikile Abalula. 

On the other hand, he might do well to ensure that Durban, once a jewel in the South African crown of Indian Ocean resorts, is cleaned up once and for all. The beach front there is now becoming a no-go area tourists, packed with prostitutes and petty thieves after dark.