Although the Boks are the best team in world rugby and are possibly the finest Bok team ever, the debate around Peter De Villiers as coach is as polarised as ever, with those who claim him to be the best Bok coach ever and those who hold the view that he has been fortunate to inherit the best Bok team ever.
This has become a difficult subject to get objectivity on as like many other areas of South African life, it has become political.
Furthermore one gets the impression that a lot of observers are avoiding this subject as whatever your view, you are likely to get attacked by those on the other side of the political spectrum. As a result a lot of the comment tends to scratch the surface without taking a deeper look at what the requirements of a modern day coach should be.
When last did you hear a statement from the manager of the Bok team?
Do we even know who the manager of the Bok team is?
The modern day coach is in effect a manager. He needs to assemble a team of specialists around him who effectively take care of most of the coaching from a practical day to day point of view. The coach is therefore the managing director of the company. In managing his team of specialists and players he needs to be the one who has excellent man management skills as well as possesing the vision and direction in order to keep the team moving forward into the future. So although he needs to emply specialists, such as a scrumming coach, he also needs to have a very good tactical and technical knowledge of the game. This is where team selection becomes one of his most important roles and an area where his ability is tested out in the open for all to see. Simply put, the team selection, tactics and adaption on the day fall upon his shoulders.
Peter De Villiers needs to be judged in the light of the above requirements of a modern day coach. There can be no doubt that his attitude today is very different from when he first took on the job of Bok coach. His failure with the press is well documented. His racial statements in defending himself did not help his cause. His romantic view about the number of black players that should be represented in the team and his stated views on playing a brand of total rugby have all been adjusted as he has no doubt come to understand the pressures of being the Bok coach and the absolute importance of winning as a Bok coach.
In short he appears to have learnt on the job, which in itself is something that all good managers are very capable of. It is true that he has had an exceptional group of players to work with and there can be no discounting his passion and commitment to the cause of Bok rugby. He will still be challenged in the months to come and once again, how he responds as a manager to those challenges will determine his continued success or failure.
The harsh reality is that you are only as good as your last game, whether you are a player or a coach. Here is hoping that the Boks go from strength to strength.
TIGHT HEAD
@4man – 328
They done well with out him in the Ashes. Struass was superb. What do you expect from a Joburg boy 😆
@carol – Yes he did and he will be the only one tonight smiling, he picked SL
Ok everyone…my klein rakkertjie is pap…i am going to sleep very early tonight…can just about build up energy to go and have a shower.
Have a lekker week.
vaya con Dios
4man
@carol – 321
I don’t mow either Carol also have a garden service. Far easier 😀
@4man – 33
Cheers 4man. Good to catch up again.
@Puma – Wellll…ok I’ll give you that one. It appears he is about the last Captain in 5 that is able to deal with the horrific pressure from the journos here…he is a good lad.
Are you a St Johns boy?
@4man – Slaap lekker
329@4man – Good… it will be good to sip a few chibulies
330@Puma – wedstryd verloor toe ons gekies het om eerste te boul, en na die eerste 15 beurte, toe ons geen paaltjies kry nie, het die skouers al begin hang.
Maar, hopelik werk dit nou beter uit vir die res van die reeks: vorige wen ons alles, behalwe die finaal. Miskien verloor ons nou, en wen die res !
@4man – 336
Nope not me. Went to the same school as Keven De Klerk. We were in school together actually. Never knew him he was about 4 years ahead of me at the time.
Group stage fixtures
No Group Home Away Local time Venue
Round 1
1
B
South Africa v Sri Lanka Tues 22 Sep 14:30 SuperSport Park, Centurion
2
A
Pakistan v West Indies Wed 23 Sep 14:30 Wanderers, Johannesburg
Round 2
3
B
South Africa v New Zealand Thur 24 Sep 09:30 SuperSport Park, Centurion
4
B
Sri Lanka v England Fri 25 Sep 14:30 Wanderers, Johannesburg
Round 3
5
A
West Indies v Australia Sat 26 Sep 09:30 Wanderers, Johannesburg
6
A
India v Pakistan Sat 26 Sep 14:30 SuperSport Park, Centurion
7
B
New Zealand v Sri Lanka Sun 27 Sep 09:30 Wanderers, Johannesburg
8
B
South Africa v England Sun 27 Sep 14:30 SuperSport Park, Centurion
Round 4
9
A
Australia v India Mon 28 Sep 14:30 SuperSport Park, Centurion
10
B
England v New Zealand Tues 29 Sep 14:30 Wanderers, Johannesburg
Round 5
11
A
Australia v Pakistan Wed 30 Sep 09:30 SuperSport Park, Centurion
12
A
India v West Indies Wed 30 Sep 14:30 Wanderers, Johannesburg
Semi-finals and final: The top 2 teams from each group go through to knockout semi-finals (A1 v B2 Fri 2 Oct, A2 v B1 Sat 3 Oct) to decide who will play in the final on Mon 5 Oct
Hoe werk die logpunte in hierdie reeks, wat gebeur as ‘n wedstryd uitreën ?
@bdb – 339
Correct I think we should have batted first. Especially being a day/night game. Should always bat first there. If its a day game then bowl first.
We will learn and like Super says we are rusty have not really played for a long time. We will get better. Hoping. Should not open with Amla either rather Gibbs I think. Amla more suited to tests.
@bdb – 343
They will work it out as long as we have played 25 overs then they will work on the Duckworth/Lewis method. Don’t ask me how they work that out. Have not a clue but I know that Sri-Lanka will win on it too at the moment.
@superBul – 241
We then have to win our next two games to go through. Unless of course New Zealand and England also lose to Sri-Lanka.
Both England and New Zealand will be tough to beat. We do have a good team and after today we should be back.
345@Puma – Luckworth / Doos is a hellova method !!
@grootblousmile – ‘Garden Services’, send them over…..
@grootblousmile – 347
I know. Remember our team coach worked it out wrong in the 2003 world cup? All we needed was one more run to go through and Mark Boucher was was just blocking the ball at the time thinking we had the runs but we needed one more and we could have got it but they worked it out wrong.
So if they did, tell you what I have no idea how it works 😀
@carol – 348
Think most have a garden service here Carol. I will send mine..haha.
@Puma – Heavens what do you lot do if you don’t mow. It takes me about 2 hours a week!! Cheaper than the gym!! 🙂
@grootblousmile – Wearing my Bulls shirt here tonight!!
Quite alot of static in the nylon!! heheheheh 😉
350@Puma – I have Garden Services here in the East Rand, but in Pretoria my one place with house in Lynnwood is on 3 300 square metres…… huge erf…. there I have a permanent Garden Man… my other house in Garsfontein I have Garden Services.
@carol – 351
We are spoiled here Carol…hehe. Too hot to mow here.
@superBul – Wish England had been a bit more convincing since the Ashes!!
@grootblousmile – 353
I have garden service in Joburg and Umhlanga otherwise by the time I got back to each house the garden would be overgrown..haha.
@grootblousmile – You have got as many houses as David Beckham!!
@grootblousmile – 353
Thats a huge garden you have in Lynwood GBS you would need a gardener for the Day there. Mind you my garden in Joburg is a fair size and the garden service do it in just over a hour. There are 5 that come at once. So its snappy. I like it like that.
@carol – 355
We also fell apart last year after beating England in the Tests in the odi’s. England are a good side they will be hard to beat.
357@carol – I only live in one… the big one in Pretoria I rent out to the Portugese Embassy….. you’ve seen it on GoogleEarth, remember? The other one I rent out too…
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