Two forgotten men of South African rugby, former captains Gary Teichmann and Francois Pienaar, will have the honour of handing over the Springboks' jerseys before their respective Tests against Wales and England.

Teichmann, who is the captain of local club side Newport, was controversially discarded by previous Springbok coach Nick Mallett before last year's World Cup. The player then accepted a two-year contract with the Welsh side.

This weekend Teichmann will be reunited with some of his former teammates when he hands over their jerseys. And the Springboks will certainly pick his brains on the strengths and weaknesses of their opponents on Sunday at the Millennium Stadium.

When asked about the player and his controversial sacking as captain, Springbok coach Harry Viljoen said the axing of Teichmann was a "sensitive issue". "That's such a sensitive issue, but I certainly do believe he could have still added a lot of value to South African rugby. That's my personal view."

Viljoen said he hasn't spoken to the No 8 about the state of Welsh rugby. "No, but we're actually using him to hand over our Test jerseys for us this week. So we will be seeing him," he added.

He said Francois Pienaar (pictured), like Teichmann one of the most revered captains in the rich history of SA rugby, would execute the same task before next week's Test against England at Twickenham. The former Bok flanker led South Africa to its World Cup triumph in 1995, but also left the country under sad circumstances.

He became player-coach of Saracens in England, but is now chief executive and coach.

Team manager Gideon Sam said the reason for the involvement of the two players is to make the handing over of the jerseys a special occasion. "It's a tradition we have, that we make it a special occasion when we hand over the jerseys to the players for the Test.

"Normally we ask the person who hands over the jerseys to give the players a word or two of encouragement. We want to ensure that every Test match becomes a special occasion for the player and the handing over of that jersey is quite a special occasion. That's why, in future, we will change around and get different people in to do that task.

I"t can be myself all the time, but later on it will lose meaning. If we get different people in, it will remain a special occasion."

Viljoen said the involvement of icons of SA rugby or from elsewhere in society will add value to the ceremony.