Former South Africa winger Ray Mordt believes resting senior players for the year-end grand slam tour of Britain and Ireland should not be a consideration for coach Peter de Villiers.

De Villiers resisted the temptation to exclude his veterans over the weekend when he named all those available in a preliminary 39-man training squad for the November and December trip.

The likes of Victor Matfield, Bryan Habana and Morne Steyn were all included, alongside a host of rookies - 10 uncapped players in total.

After a mediocre year in which the Springboks lost five out of 10 Tests, there have been growing calls for the seniors to be rested ahead of the defence of the World Cup in New Zealand next year.

But Mordt, who played 18 Tests for South Africa during the 1980s, feels the tour is too important to take lightly.

"Grand slam tours don't come around often and none of these players have won it, so it would be a good opportunity for them," he told Business Day.

"Even if they were to win four of the five games (the fifth game is against the Barbarians), it would boost the team's confidence."

"The senior players have to go on tour because they struggled in the Tri Nations and they need to prove that they can still do the job."

The Springboks produced their worst performance in a Tri Nations campaign, where all five of their losses came.

Mordt claims the emphasis should be solely on the national team in the build-up to the finals, suggesting that if players needed rest it should be done during the southern-hemisphere Super Rugby competition.

"This will also be good for the coaches because it is almost a last chance before the World Cup to see if the players are up for the challenge, especially since there aren't many Tests after the Super Rugby series to put things in place," he added.

"At this point it is critical for the players to rebuild the confidence and team spirit they had before, and the only way to do that is to play Test rugby.

"This tour is far superior to having a Super Rugby franchise win next season, as the national players will be in different teams."

He also challenged the South African Rugby Union (SARU) to show their mettle in making the big calls over what held the most significance.

"SARU has to decide what is more important - Super Rugby or the World Cup," he added.

"Depending on how the young players fit into the team, they could even play the senior Boks for 40 minutes and then bring on a few young players.

"But tours over there are not easy and, given the tough conditions, it would be wise to take the best players.

"Besides, I am almost certain that if the coach were to ask the players if they wanted to go on tour or remain at home, they would opt to go."

South Africa are already without captain John Smit, Gurthro Steenkamp, Jaque Fourie, Fourie du Preez, Andries Bekker and Heinrich Brussow due to long-term injuries.

De Villiers will name his final squad for the trip after the Currie Cup final on October 30.