If the Springbok players are to bring back the Rugby World Cup for a third time, they must be allowed to have as much sex as they want, said renowned sports scientist Tim Noakes.
Noakes' comments follow the New Zealand Rugby Union's defence of an advertising campaign which urges All Blacks supporters to abstain from sex during this year's Rugby World Cup.
The campaign was devised by the advertising agency Saatchi and Saatchi for team sponsors Telecom and fronted by former All Blacks captain Sean Fitzpatrick.
The campaign will feature posters reading "touch, pause, don't engage" - instructions given by referees to forward packs when scrums are set.
Critics maintained that the campaign is embarrassing and will make New Zealanders the subject of ridicule during the World Cup.
Noakes said yesterday: "It is a normal human activity, and the key is that life must go on normally. It is less exertion than two scrums. I wouldn't ban it."
Springbok spokesman Andy Colquhoun said the players were "mature athletes", and would be left to their own devices - as long as it didn't disrupt the team plans.
However, Noakes warned that bringing wives and girlfriends on long trips would have to be phased in over a few years "so everyone is comfortable" as the women also "bring a lot of stress" with them.
"The Aussies did it when they won the World Cup in 1991. The more normal the surroundings, the more likely they are to perform [on the field]." - Additional reporting by Sapa-AFP
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