Peter De Villiers is cleared over fixing rant

Peter de Villiers will face no sanctions for his comments in a recent interview, after South Africa, New Zealand and Australia Rugby (SANZAR) dismissed the misconduct charge against him.

The South Africa coach was summoned to appear before a hearing in Cape Town last week following comments in a television interview in July. During the interview, De Villiers seemed to allege referees were showing bias towards New Zealand in light of the Springboks' second Tri Nations loss to the All Blacks in as many weeks. He had said: "We have a World Cup in New Zealand next year, and maybe it was the right thing for them to win the games so they can attract more people to the games."

A statement from SANZAR said: "After considering the evidence (it was] decided that, on balance of probability, Mr De Villiers had not breached the SANZAR code of conduct. During his interview, Mr De Villiers never mentioned or referred to referees or match fixing."

The ruling means De Villiers will now be able to take his place on the sidelines when the Boks next face the Kiwis on August 21.