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By Lauren Deason
PGATOUR.com Editorial Coordinator

ILE BIZARD, MONTREAL, Canada -- For all the talk about the International team's chemistry at The Presidents Cup, there's one thing that could potentially divide them.

Rugby.

Ernie Els is a veteran of 20 career matches in Presidents Cup play. (WIreImage)

Set smack dab in the middle of the 2007 Rugby World Cup, The Presidents Cup has an International squad made up of four South Africans and four Australians. There's just one problem -- South Africa leads its pool in the Rugby World Cup and Australia is tops in theirs, so a potential showdown between the two countries could be looming.

Just don't expect a locker-room scrum between The Presidents Cup teammates over which rugby team is better.

"We're the bigger guys," Rory Sabbatini said of his fellow South Africans Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and Trevor Immelman, compared to Aussies Adam Scott, Nick O'Hern, Geoff Ogilvy and Stuart Appleby.

"The Aussies are underdogs and when they're underdogs, they shut up. They are quiet," Ernie Els joked.

Though Goosen claims that rugby is a more popular sport than golf in his home country, he's still sure that folks will be spending late nights watching their four sons tee it up for Captain - and South African - Gary Player.

"There are a lot of South Africans here, and for us it's definitely going to be great to try to win it. We're going to have a lot of support down in South Africa, for sure," Goosen said.

Like many of their teammates, the four have homes outside of South Africa, with Sabbatini spending his off-course time on a ranch in Texas while Goosen maintains residences in Florida, London and Pietersburg, South Africa. No matter where they go, however, each keeps a tie to the mother country. Or in Immelman's case, father country, as his dad Johan is the commissioner of South Africa's Sunshine Tour.

Immelman and Sabbatini, who will play together in Thursday's Foursomes match, won the 2003 World Cup for South Africa and plan to play in the event in 2007. Goosen and Els maintain homes in the country and continue to compete in South Africa when not on the PGA TOUR.

"Myself, Retief, Trevor, we helped [golf] grow down there, too. We played a lot of golf down there in South Africa. After the U.S. and European Tours are done, we play in South Africa and try to give some back. I've got a foundation and Retief has got a foundation down there," Els said.

In his case, Els' foundation is one that he started in 1999 with Fancourt Golf Estate to identify talented young South Africans who may not otherwise have the means to play but show golf talent. The 2005 Presidents Cup was played at The Links at Fancourt in George, South Africa, which ended in an unprecedented tie.

International Captain Gary Player (WireImage)

"We've had some really good champions come out of South Africa, obviously with Bobby Locke and obviously Gary Player, and also a lot of other players who play the U.S. tours and the European Tour. South Africa is a country that has given a lot to golf from a player standpoint. It was a natural thing to do was to take it to South Africa when Gary Player was the captain, especially playing Gary's golf course, the Links," Els said.

After sitting out the biennial tournament in 2005 due to knee problems, Els returns for his first Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal Golf Club since 2003's home game in South Africa, which he thinks "did a lot for South African golf."

"It would have been one of the biggest sporting events in South Africa. I think you have to ask the players. I think anybody that went down there had an unbelievable time and we had great support and it was great for the country and for golf in South Africa, and to see Tiger Woods and to see Vijay Singh and all of these great players."

The more golf has grown in South Africa, the more key players have emerged from the area. Immelman first laid eyes on his mentor Player at age five, the same age he turned to his father and declared he wanted to be the best golfer in the world someday.

Fast forward 20 years, when Player took a chance on 25-year-old Immelman for the 2005 Presidents Cup and made him one of his Captain's Picks. Immelman wound up with a one-win, three-loss record there and a two-year exemption on the PGA TOUR. Just one year later, Immelman won the 2006 Cialis Western Open on TOUR and was voted Rookie of the Year.

Rookie Rory Sabbatini made the International squad after outstanding seasons in 2006 and 2007. (WIreImage)

Another young South African, 31-year-old Sabbatini, is a Presidents Cup rookie and comes into the event having won the Crowne Plaza Invitational in May 2007 for his fourth TOUR victory. He also finished in the top-10 in all four events in the Playoffs for the FedExCup.

The feisty Sabbatini, who hasn't made any secret of his desire to take on World No. 1 Woods this season, held his tongue when asked if he wanted to play Woods in Sunday's Singles matches.

"I'm just going to go play and if they decide to pair me up against him, so be it," Sabbatini said, "I'm here to do my job probably as hard as I can and as well as I can, and that's about all I'm focused on."

From rookie Sabbatini to veterans Els (1996, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2007) and Goosen (2000, 2003, 2005, 2007), South Africa has certainly had an impact on The Presidents Cup. Goosen -- two-time U.S. Open champion, six-time TOUR winner and owner of 22 other titles internationally -- has a 9-5-1 Presidents Cup record. Els, a 15-time victor on TOUR and winner of 43 other tournaments around the world, has racked up 10 wins in his past Presidents Cup tries along with eight losses and two ties.

"I've always enjoyed playing in this team event. The Presidents Cup -- Vijay and myself started playing it when we were still in our teens, or I was," Els joked.

"We've been around for a long time and it's nice to see the younger guys coming through.

The last time I played in South Africa, I played with Tim Clark and I had a great time with him. It was his first time down there and Adam Scott, so I've had a good time with a lot of guys. We have great chemistry on this team and we give a lot of shtick."

Especially when it comes to rugby.