The England captain Martin Johnson has warned clubs there is a danger of too many foreign players coming into the English game.

The man who guided Leicester to last season's Allied Dunbar Premiership title believes that clubs who fill their squad with overseas stars will hamper the young talent coming through.

English First Division Rugby Limited have agreed to allow the clubs in Premiership One and Two to play three foreigners in their side during the World Cup but returning to only two afterwards.

At the launch of the new season at Twickenham, Johnson said: "There is a danger of too many foreign players coming into our game.

"If clubs fill their squads with overseas players it will stop English-born players getting a chance."

He wants to see a balance struck where the foreign players who come into the domestic game actually help develop younger stars.

"Standards are a lot higher than a few years ago," he explained. "If you look at rugby seven or eight years ago, there were only three or four good teams and the rest were a much of a muchness.

"Now there is a lot of talent coming through and standards are higher but there is a danger of too many foreigners playing here."

However, with the new season just weeks away, both Johnson and his director of rugby Dean Richards know keeping the title at Welford Road will be exceptionally hard.

"It will be very difficult to win the league again this year," said Richards.

"Having only two points for a win during the World Cup will be a leveller, but we will be hit very hard at the start of the year, because we have so many on international duty.

"It will be quite exciting to see the younger talent coming through but it will be a stepping stone for them.

"If you look at Newcastle and how they struggled after winning their title, it shows how hard it can be to retain it.

"They had a disappointing season by their standards last year and they will be back again this season.

"Wasps are a threat. And Northampton, Bath and Harlequins are all sides capable of winning the league this year."

But both Johnson and Richards are backing Saracens to be the main threat with the signings they have made during the summer.

Johnson concluded: "They will be disappointed with the performance last year and they have put together a very good side for this season."

South Africa coach Nick Mallett says that he is happy with the early commitment the Springbok World Cup squad has shown in the first days of their training camp in the southern coastal town of Plettenberg. The world champions are under pressure after their disappointing show against New Zealand and Australia in the Tri-Series.

But Mallet said: "There's a keenness and enthusiasm which is great to see at this early stage and I am very pleased with how quickly the squad are starting to gel. It's early days and there's a lot of hard work to do before our first match, but it's clear the players are prepared to put in what is required."

Mallett stressed that the first week was not going to be all hard work. "We've got to have some fun as well to get the proper 'gees' (team spirit) going," he said.

So far the fun has included a motivational talk on what separates winners from losers and a music workshop where the 'Boks tried their hand at drumming - an exercise "designed to release tension" according to the trainers.

The first week of the camp will be devoted to a punishing fitness programme, which includes early morning swims, triathlon training and indoor workouts, team fitness trainer Kevin Stevenson said.

Stevenson likened this week's work to pre-season training and said the focus will be on fitness without a rugby ball in sight.