"South Africa faces an anxious wait to see whether the Springbok team that won the World Cup will be kept together or ripped apart." Stephen Nell reports

The initial signs are positive, with Springbok coach Jake White being endorsed by the highest authority in the country: President Thabo Mbeki.

However, it remains to be seen what will transpire once White meets his bosses at SA Rugby. The latter must also still apply their minds next week to the tricky issue of whether in future White is allowed to picked overseas-based players.

The key to that is the future of Bok skipper John Smit. He has signed for Clermont in France, but is keen to carry on playing for South Africa.

Full-back Percy Montgomery and fly-half Butch James are also heading overseas, while 35-year-old loosehead prop Os du Randt is hanging up his boots.

Montgomery and James were both important figures in South Africa's World Cup win and White will be keen to retain them if his contract is extended.

If White's bosses refuse to budge on the issue it means the coach has to face the future without a skipper that has been integral to his success.

Furthermore, White's contract runs out on 31 December. Having clashed heads with his employer in the past he has enemies keen to see the back of him.

The emotion of a World Cup win, however, is a powerful healer and the country is firmly behind White and his team.

Having made the team world champions and having the backing of the public, White may also decide it's the ideal time to walk. Springbok coaches are always pushed and White has expressed his pride at being able to see out his contract.

He has hinted that he may decide to get out while the going is good, but added that there will not be emotional decisions. He is taking time out and will take the team on their tour of the Northern Hemisphere to play Wales and the Barbarians.

The spectre of political interference continues to hang over South African sport, with the National Sport and Recreation Amendment Bill, which still has to be signed off, giving the Minister of Sport powers of intervention in sporting codes.

The Springbok team that won the World Cup also contained only two players of colour in Bryan Habana and JP Pietersen. Many politicians want a transformed side.

However, Mbeki now seems to be a Springbok man and may take a leaf out of former president Nelson Mandela's book, by seeing his association with rugby as a vehicle for reconciliation.

In addition, there is a trickle of black players coming through. Gurthrö Steenkamp, for example, has been groomed as Du Randt's successor, which means there will be a player of colour among the tight forwards on merit.

If SA Rugby and/or White decide it's time to move on, the successor is likely to be either Bulls coach Heyneke Meyer or Emerging Springboks mentor Peter de Villiers. The other candidate is White's current assistant, Allister Coetzee. Applications for the job close on October 26 and only Ssouth African citizens may apply.

White's interest in continuing may be determined by whether he believes his employer creates an environment that's conducive to success.

The key questions are probably whether he will be allowed to pick whom he wants, irrespective of where they play, and whether he can work in an environment free of excessive political stress.

Mbeki has voiced his support, which suggests pressure from the government could subside.

The South African rugby landscape, however, remains fraught with difficulties.

Stranger things have happened than South African administrators not being interested in retaining the services of a World Cup-winning coach.