JOHANNESBURG, May 25 (Reuters) - The good form of South Africa teams in Super Rugby has been a confidence boost for the world champions ahead of their World Cup defence later this year, Springbok coach Peter de Villiers said.
The competition is entering its last four weeks of league play with four of the five South African teams in the top 10, while The Stormers, Sharks and Bulls are all in the running for playoff places.
De Villiers picked out two recent wins for South African teams in New Zealand.
"There have been two brilliant games recently which are a marker for the World Cup," De Villiers said on Wednesday.
"The first was in Bloemfontein when the Cheetahs beat the Crusaders [33-20 on May 14] and then when the Stormers were down and out but managed to come back and win on the same ground as the World Cup final will be played on."
The Stormers remained top of the South African conference and third overall with last weekend's sensational 28-26 win over the Auckland Blues at Eden Park after trailing 19-3 at halftime.
"That will give New Zealand plenty to chew on," added De Villiers, who tempered his optimism because of an ever-expanding injury list.
Springbok regulars Fourie du Preez, Jean de Villiers, Jaque Fourie, Heinrich Brussow, Jannie du Plessis, John Smit and Juan Smith are all currently out of action.
"These guys are giving me grey hairs and it's not because I'm getting old.
"We've all been praying for the guys to get some rest before the World Cup, we didn't plan it but now they're getting that rest, so they'll hopefully be fresh at the World Cup. But any injuries from now on will be worrying," De Villiers said.
The competition is entering its last four weeks of league play with four of the five South African teams in the top 10, while The Stormers, Sharks and Bulls are all in the running for playoff places.
De Villiers picked out two recent wins for South African teams in New Zealand.
"There have been two brilliant games recently which are a marker for the World Cup," De Villiers said on Wednesday.
"The first was in Bloemfontein when the Cheetahs beat the Crusaders [33-20 on May 14] and then when the Stormers were down and out but managed to come back and win on the same ground as the World Cup final will be played on."
The Stormers remained top of the South African conference and third overall with last weekend's sensational 28-26 win over the Auckland Blues at Eden Park after trailing 19-3 at halftime.
"That will give New Zealand plenty to chew on," added De Villiers, who tempered his optimism because of an ever-expanding injury list.
Springbok regulars Fourie du Preez, Jean de Villiers, Jaque Fourie, Heinrich Brussow, Jannie du Plessis, John Smit and Juan Smith are all currently out of action.
"These guys are giving me grey hairs and it's not because I'm getting old.
"We've all been praying for the guys to get some rest before the World Cup, we didn't plan it but now they're getting that rest, so they'll hopefully be fresh at the World Cup. But any injuries from now on will be worrying," De Villiers said.
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