Speaking to the media, just over two weeks out from the start of the Super 14 tournament, the Bok coach made it clear that he is not making any promises to any players about having "guaranteed" places in the World Cup squad.

He felt any such notions, making promises of guaranteed World Cup places, would result in those players not performing properly in the Super 14 - for the fear of getting injured and then missing out on the World Cup in France later this year.

"We can't put them in comfort zones, we want them to perform for their provinces," White said.

He said he doesn't necessary subscribe to the New Zealand method of resting their top 22 All Blacks from the first half of the Super 14 season.

It is obvious, according to White, that All Black coach Graham Henry has made up his mind who his top 22 players in the World Cup will be.

"It would be naive to think those [22] players [being rested] are not going to the World Cup," White said.

"So they have showed their hand and it's either going to work out for them or not."

But White feels even though the South African players will have to fight for their World Cup places, that does not mean they will now start playing with injuries and run the risk of aggravating those injuries.

"Id like to believe that a player who knows he can be a part of the World Cup squad, because he has been a part of the Bok team for the last couple of years, would understand that there is no use carrying an injury, because he is going to be costing himself at the end of the season.

"The responsibility falls on the players both ways. When he is on the field he needs to make sure he is playing properly and when he is carrying a injury he needs to rest."

But the gist of his message was clear, there are spots available in the Bok World Cup squad.

"The door is still open," White said.

"If you had asked me this time last year I would have said most of the players have picked themselves and I am happy with my core group of players.

"All of a sudden a year later we have Francois Steyn, Jaco Pretorius, Bevin Fortuin and Pierre Spies who have come through.

"Guys who play well now [in the Super 14] have a chance of making it, but at the same time I have always placed a premium on being consistent and on understanding that experience always plays a big part in a World Cup.

"It's no secret that the two most experienced teams played in the Final of the last World Cup.

"It's no secret when we won it in '95 we had one or two young guys in Mark Andrew and Ruben Kruger, who were really special players and made World XVs on their day. But the gist of our team were all older than the average team we have had.

"Taking that into account, a lot of the players I have worked with in the past three years have shown they can play at this level. It doesn't mean the door is closed, but the other guys will have to play a lot better than the guys in whom we have shown faith in the past."

By Jan de Koning