Ockert de Villiers - Sondag

Springbok World Cup heroes Butch James and CJ van der Linde could be facing their former teammates in a warm-up match in May.

Both James and Van der Linde have been confirmed as targets for Namibia's Invitation XV that will give the Springboks their only warm-up match before their Test series against the Lions.

Afrikaans Sunday newspaper Sondag confirmed that the duo were being asked to join the Namibian side to give Springbok coach Peter de Villiers a chance to assess them before naming his side for the Lions series.

Both James and Van der Linde play in Europe, and therefore technically won’t be considered for the Springbok line-up. Van der Linde previously sent a plea to De Villiers to consider him, even though he plays for Irish club Leinster.

James has a three year contract with Bath, but with no clear front runner for the flyhalf position, there have been calls for his return.

According to a spokesman for the Namibian Rugby Union, the Bok duo are likely to play alongside a handful of Namibian players who currently ply their trade in the Currie Cup and Super 14.

The Namibians likely to be involved in the match include Bulls flank Jacques Burger, Stormers prop Wikus Blaauw and Cheetahs centre Piet van Zyl.

De Villiers also indicated this past week that he was keen to invite a few players to face the Boks to make it a sterner test.

"Namibia are planning to invite international players to take part in the festival,"  De Villiers said.