World Cup stars Ruan Pienaar, Frans Steyn and Gurthro Steenkamp, and promising wing Odwa Ndungane have been axed from the South Africa rugby squad.

The World Champions will play Argentina in a one-off Test at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on Saturday before turning their attention to the Tri-Nations and home matches against New Zealand and Australia.

The Boks are currently in third spot on the Tri-Nations competition points table after picking up an away win against New Zealand in Dunedin last month.

They lost their two other matches in Wellington and Perth, but with three home games to come are in a favourable position to win their third Tri-Nations title.

But before then the Boks will clash with the team whom they met in the World Cup semi-finals in France last October in celebration of former president Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday.

Bok coach Peter de Villiers announced Sunday that Pienaar, Steyn, Steenkamp and Ndungane are surplus to his needs for this weekend's match.

Pienaar and Steyn, two of the most versatile and talented players in South Africa, have lost out on a chance at selection because of their inability to find a regular place in the team.

Pienaar, a regular scrumhalf at the Coastal Sharks, has been used at scrumhalf, flyhalf and fullback in the last year, while Steyn, who played at inside centre during the World Cup, has been moved between flyhalf, centre and fullback since De Villiers took charge of the team earlier this year.

Both men, as talented as they are, can find no place in the Bok starting XV such is the depth in South African rugby and De Villiers' preference for specialists in all the positions, and have had to be happy with a few minutes action here and there from the bench.

Loosehead prop Steenkamp has lost out to Tendai Mtawarira from the Sharks, while De Villiers has more than enough wings in his team to continue with Ndungane.

Besides Bryan Habana and JP Pietersen, De Villiers can also call on rookie flyer Jongi Nokwe, who was last week recalled to the Bok squad after years of being on the fringes of selection.

The 24-man squad will start preparations for the Argentina clash on Monday.

They will, however, first meet the former president, along with the national football team, Bafana Bafana, at Mandela's home in Houghton on Monday morning to wish him a Happy 90th Birthday.

Boks squad:

Forwards: Adriaan Strauss, Andries Bekker, Bakkies Botha, Bismarck du Plessis, Brian Mujati, CJ van der Linde, Joe van Niekerk, Juan Smith, Luke Watson, Pierre Spies, Schalk Burger, Tendai Mtawarira, Victor Matfield (captain)

Backs: Adrian Jacobs, Bryan Habana, Butch James, Conrad Jantjes, Enrico Januarie, Fourie du Preez, Jaque Fourie, Jean de Villiers, Jongi Nokwe, JP Pietersen, Percy Montgomery.

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