Irish asked to defer SA tour(Continued from page 1)

Effectively therefore, whether the IRFU like it or not, they have become pawns in South Africa's internal dispute.

There is also the nagging suspicion that Ireland's tour, which precedes the visits to South Africa of Wales, England, New Zealand and Australia, will be used as the final stick to beat Luyt over the head with, and could therefore be the most vulnerable. If Luyt digs in his heels until the next SARFU meeting in a fortnight, he may not be voted out of office until two days before Ireland's proposed departure for Cape town on May 24th.

Nonetheless, for all the threats and counter-threats, posturing and soundbites, the feeling within South African rugby and sporting circles is that the under-fire Luyt will be removed one way or another in time for all the summer's tours to South Africa, including Ireland's, to go ahead as scheduled.

There is also a belief within the NSC that if Rupert Murdoch doesn't get Luyt, then SARFU will. And in all probability, it will be both. Ultimately, nothing talks quite like money and the Tri-Nations series alone is worth an estimated £15 million to the SARFU as part of their share of Sky's coverage. Although Luyt vowed yesterday "I intend to be in the way for a very long time" his survival this far is primarily due to a SARFU constitutional hitch.