The new Springbok coach will be selected on January 9, the South African Rugby Union has announced.

The four shortlisted candidates to succeed World Cup-winning coach Jake White were supposed to take place on Monday and Tuesday, but will now commence in early January.

One of the candidates, Allister Coetzee, requested the interviews be postponed as he was part of the coaching staff with the Springboks on their short tour of England and Wales.

The other contenders are South Africa under-21 coach Peter de Villiers, Bulls coach Heyneke Meyer and 1995 World Cup-winning Springbok wing Chester Williams.

A meeting of the council of provincial union presidents - which has 19 voting members - will make the final decision after receiving recommendations from a nine-man appointment committee.

"The committee appointed by the president's council to manage the appointment of the national-team coach has rescheduled the final interviews with the four shortlisted candidates," a statement from the national body read.

"The interviews will now take place on 7 and 8 January 2008, after which the committee will forward the name of the preferred candidate to the president's council.

"The president's council will convene a meeting on 9 January 2008 in Cape Town to appoint the national-team coach."

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