South African rugby has the depth of talent to be successful in the Super 12 competition.

This is the opinion of Springbok assistant coach, Tim Lane, who coached the Renegades in four warm-up games against the four South African contenders - Bulls, Cats, Sharks and Stormers - over the past two weeks.

The 2002 edition of the Vodacom Super 12 was officially launched at Vodaworld in Midrand on Tuesday under the banner "All Out Rugby".

The Renegades squad was selected after trials involving players who were not included in the four Vodacom Rugby Super squads when they were announced in early January. In their four matches they lost narrowly to the Bulls (24-23), Sharks (24-17) and Cats (39-22) and suffered a 55-24 defeat against the Stormers.

"This exercise was not as much about results as it was about confirming that there is a wealth of rugby talent in this country," said Lane (pictured). "The squad had just five days to prepare for their first match and then played four times in 10 days without shaming themselves.

"They faced quality opposition in the four South African Super 12 sides and made sure that each and every game was keenly contested."

Lane said he was particularly impressed with the amount of young players who are coming through the ranks.

"There are some highly talented young players in the four Super 12 squads and many more who are putting up their hands for recognition. I have really been impressed with the standard of rugby played by the four Super 12 squads, some of it despite teams being hampered by injuries. South African rugby can approach the 2002 event with optimism."

He added that he had no doubt in South Africa's ability to successfully field a fifth team should the competition be expanded to a Super 14.

"There should not be any concern about the depth of talent in South Africa. The structures that are in place are clearly working when it comes to bringing players through the system.

"The issue over the viability of a fifth team has previously been debated in the context of the past performances of the four South African teams in the competition. Now that the Renegades have given a glimpse of the future talent at our disposal there should be no doubt on this issue at all."

Lane said the four South African squads were evenly matched. "The Sharks have a lot of depth in their squad and are very strong. The Stormers and the Cats have injuries to key players but will both be competitive and the Bulls have the best chance ever to show what they are capable of at this level.

"The Super 12 is a tough competition in which all of the teams are evenly matched. If our guys can get off to a good start - especially those teams who travel early on - there is a very realistic chance that we will be represented in the final come the end of May," Lane said.