Rugby union: Pienaar 'will be fit'

Rugby union

Pienaar 'will be fit'

The South African coach Kitch Christie insisted yesterday that their captain, Francois Pienaar, would be fit to lead the Springboks into the World Cup next week. A fitness test on Pienaar's hamstring was abandoned because of rain, but Christie said the flanker would be ready for the opening match against Australia on Thursday. "He's had a slight hamstring twinge, but he's fine," Christie said. "We didn't have snorkels and masks so we gave the training session a miss." The England A coach, Mike Slemen, claimed there was room for improvement from his men - despite seeing them overwhelm South Australia in their opening tour match in Adelaide yesterday. Derek Eves and Jim Naylor both scored two tries as the tourists romped home 66-9, but Slemen said: "We made too many mistakes."