Peter de Villiers has been given an initially two-year contract

South Africa coach Peter de Villiers has warned his European-based stars he intends to select from home-based players for the international season.

De Villiers succeeded World Cup-winning coach Jake White in January and picks his first Springbok team next month.

He said: "Even if I wanted to choose a whole lot of overseas-based players, I cannot make that decision.

"The (SA Rugby) Board ruling says there should be a maximum of three overseas based players and I will adhere to it."

A number of World Cup-winning stars - including Toulon's Victor Matfield, Bath's Butch James and Saracens' Brent Russell - now all ply their trade on the lucrative northern hemisphere circuit.

And the only overseas-based player guaranteed his place in De Villiers's first squad, to be named on the weekend of 16 May, is World Cup-winning captain John Smit.

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The former South Africa Sharks hooker is now playing his rugby with French club Clermont, but De Villiers recently named Smit as his captain, thus ensuring his place in the team.

De Villiers is known to be a fan of Western Stormers fly-half Peter Grant, who played for him in last year's Emerging Springbok team when he was coach.

There are also a number of quality lock forwards currently involved in the Super 14 competition, including Bakkies Botha and Johann Muller, while rookie Andries Bekker of the Stormers has also been in good form.

The Springboks face Six Nations champions Wales in a two-Test series in June as well as Italy, before turning their attention to the Tri-Nations