South Africa coach Peter de Villiers has hit out at what he believes is a media campaign intended to oust him from power.
His outburst came after a report in The Weekender newspaper claimed De Villiers was the target of a blackmail attempt by a Springbok player.
But De Villiers came out fighting on Sunday, insisting the article was fabrication.
He told the Sondag newspaper: ‘There is not one word of truth in it.
‘I realise again that there are a lot of people who don't want me to succeed. If you look at the reports when we win, it's always someone else's team, someone else's gameplan but when we lose, then it's my fault.
‘If you look at the article and you remove the talk of blackmail, then you can see what the agenda behind it is.’
On Saturday, the South Africa Rugby Union also quashed reports of a blackmail attempt to influence the selection of the Springbok squad.
The statement said: ‘Peter de Villiers and the South African Rugby Union categorically deny that there have ever been any attempts to blackmail or coerce him over the selection of any player to the national squad, as alleged in a report that appeared in Saturday's Weekender newspaper.
‘However SARU can confirm that a company employee did approach Mr De Villiers on 15 August in Cape Town. The employee made certain extraordinary claims which SARU has since looked into but has been unable to find any basis to support in fact.
‘The employee was advised on August 25 that he would be called to an internal misconduct hearing, the charge sheet for which is still being prepared.’
De Villiers has come under pressure recently following South Africa's disappointing performance in the Tri-Nations, although that was lifted somewhat by the 53-8 mauling of Australia in a dead-rubber match last weekend.
