Heyneke Meyer has been approached by the South African Rugby Union to coach the Springboks but his Blue Bulls employers are reluctant to let him go.

SARU confirmed on Wednesday it met with Meyer a day earlier, without yet making an appointment.

The new coach is expected to be announced on Friday in Cape Town.

Blue Bulls said in a statement it would not release Meyer but added it would not stand in his way if he agreed to replace Peter de Villiers as the national coach. De Villiers was contracted to the end of this month.

“It would not be in the Blue Bulls interest to release Meyer,” the club said on Wednesday.

The club noted it “would be disappointed” if Meyer left to coach the Boks.

Meyer coached the Bulls in 2007 to become the first Super rugby champion from Africa in the professional era, and was favoured to succeed Jake White as Boks coach. But after he lost out to De Villiers, he took over at English club Leicester.

He lasted only six months, resigning to return to South Africa for compassionate reasons.