"I'M A dreamer but I'm realistic," Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer declared yesterday.

It is perhaps for that reason his inner pragmatist tells him his team will have to top the heights they scaled against the All Blacks at Ellis Park if they are going to go unbeaten through their four-Test tour of Europe, starting on November 8.

"I know it is going to be tough to win all four. In a sense we have to be better than we were in the last two games of the Championship if we want to win all four," Meyer said after the squad assembled yesterday for their tour of Ireland, England, Italy and Wales.

"Next year there is no incoming tour and there are only four Tests before the World Cup. This is the last chance we have to look at players before the World Cup in those conditions."

Meyer also paid tribute to fallen sport stars Senzo Meyiwa and Mbulaeni Mulaudzi. "Any loss of life is a huge tragedy. Probably even more so if it is a sporting icon and guys who are an example in society. Our thoughts are with their families."