Tri-Nations

Springbok coach Peter de Villiers was given the "full support" by his South African Rugby Union bosses, who said they will "assist" him in getting the national team back on track.

De Villiers and met with senior board members in Cape Town on Thursday, at the request of the Chairman of SARU's technical committee, James Stoffberg.

In a media release SARU said the meeting was designed to "assist the leadership" in understanding where and how they could help the Bok coach.

They are hoping for "improved results" on the home leg of the Boks' Tri-Nations campaign, after the men in Green and Gold suffered three big losses in Australasia this month.

The meeting also discussed "forward planning" for the World Cup in 2011.

Earlier in the week Hoskins told rugby365.com that the review is done regularly and any reports of a rift in the Bok setup were purely speculation. To see the earlier report [CLICK HERE].

SARU made it clear De Villiers has the backing of the national body, as he strives to turn the Springboks fortunes around during the home leg - which starts when the Boks meet the All Blacks in a historic Test in Soweto on August 21.

They also face the Wallabies in back-to-back internationals, in Pretoria and Bloemfontein, the following two weeks.

"We had a very productive meeting and there are areas where Peter [De Villiers] will present us with his plans for the future and we will offer our support in realising them," Stoffberg said.

"He has our full support and we are confident that we can quickly be put back on track."

The statement from SARU did, however, confirm that a formal performance review of the Springbok coach will take place at a later date.

The meeting was also attended by SARU President Oregan Hoskins, Mark Alexander (Deputy President), SARU CEO Johan Prinsloo and Andy Marinos, Manager of National teams.