Not much that Peter de Villiers says in this Article can be disputed. He had a hard task to guide Jake White’s glory boys. With the massive amount of senior player power and his introduction to the coaching job, he was always on the receiving end. Yes, he was not the best technical coach but he kept the politicians off our backs and the team together.
Good luck to the next coach!
It is my impression that politcs will play a major role again and if the new coach is not from the previously disadvantaged group, his task will be most difficult.
Enough opinionating, here is the actual Article:
Springbok coach Peter de Villiers says the SA Rugby Union (SARU) left the appointment of the new national coach too late. De Villiers’s contract was extended until the end of January while SARU completed the process of finding his replacement.
“It is already too late for the coach to sit down with the Super Rugby coaches,” De Villiers said on Thursday. “The appointment should have been made in December because we didn’t have an overseas tour this time.”
He said the new Springbok coach would not have enough time with the team before the start of the three-match Test series against England.
The Super Rugby season will recess for the June international matches, with the Springboks playing the English Roses a week after a gruelling weekend of local derby matches.
Speculation about his replacement had been rife in recent weeks. No formal shortlist had been made public. SARU, however, last year confirmed that De Villiers was on the shortlist, while Bulls director of rugby Heyneke Meyer and Ireland forwards coach Gert Smal were touted as favourites. De Villiers confirmed a meeting with SARU CEO Jurie Roux on Monday where they “spoke about this and that”, adding that he did not know whether he was a candidate for the job or not. While doubting whether SARU had any interest in him, he said he was open to take the reins in a caretaker capacity.
“There is always a bigger picture and one should not be egotistical. It will always be an honour to make a contribution,” De Villiers said.
De Villiers, however, said SARU pulled the rug from under his feet with the extension of his contract.
“Now there is’nt any other work out there. Perhaps it would be better to say that they would no longer be making use of my services. It creates certain expectations,” he said.
The Springbok mentor said there were no regrets about his tenure as national coach, which spanned four seasons.
“Hours of planning and consultation went into the job… .I can say with complete sincerity that every single decision I have made in the last four years has been a rugby one. That is why it has been easy for me to make them without any agendas. It is true that one doesn’t always make the right decisions, but I have taken responsibility for it. You can’t satisfy everybody, but I can keep my head high as I haven’t enriched myself.”
De Villiers felt the amount of talent he had brought through was a feather in his cap, with players like Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira, Zane Kirchner, Heinrich Brüssow, Francois Hougaard, Andries Bekker and Morné Steyn making their debuts under him.
“If I can give one medal to myself, it is the one for giving young talent the opportunity, who will now make the core of the team for the future.”
De Villiers said the Super Rugby recess would give the new coach a different challenge as it was a crucial stage of the cross-continental competition. He said if the franchises stood a chance of advancing to the playoffs they would be reluctant to release their players to the Springbok team. De Villiers also suggested that injuries could easily be feigned to keep the players out of the June internationals and he also felt the franchises held too much power and had made life difficult for him.
For once there is a fair mixture of support and badmouthing in the comments of this article on s24.
I hope that a new coach will be appointed, i cant handle another year of abuse on this mans character, in my eyes he was a very interesting and colorfull character and many of the players under him supported him totally. Like GH he just needed decent assistants. And NO one here will call Dick and Gary Gold that.
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Susan – January 19, 2012 at 21:58
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i agree with PDV but i think SARU should appoint him as a coach if a team is winning we praise the coach and if they loose coach is rubbish the reality is springboks were cheated out of their game during RWC . in saying that when Allblacks didnt perform in France everybody asked for Henry’s head and to be sacked but the players and the board beleived in him and his experience and now his the winning coach castle is nt built in a day or so … PDV has experience and knowledge gained during his 4 years and i reckon given another 4 years we will see the fruit of his experience . he is one man who is nt afraid to voice his opinion and i salute him fr that . PdV HAS BUILT THE FOUNDATION let him build the rest . SARU will make a huge mistake in employing a new coach as it will take that person along time to adjust and to get to know players skills on individual basis. So people need to understand the structure and the depth which is required at this level of the game. many has voiced to employ ex players of Springboks not all players can become a good coach and history from around the globe has proven that .SARU give PDV another chance as his done the ground work let him build it and appoint an assistant coach who can take over in 4 years that way u are not head hunting for a totally new person. We have to be realistic and do what is best fr the rugby putting personal differences aside . use the resources which u have sometimes we forget to look closer to what we have.
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Jules Thorne – January 20, 2012 at 00:28
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Susan you said it all,when you good you good and when you loose you loose,its a rollercoaster,some you loose and some you win,others out there dont be soar losers take it on the chin,wonder what tha would have said if had won the world cup,surely a different story to tell ne,i d say keep him,his not stupid,his using his GOD givin talent at that level,GO P DIDDY GO !!!!
A honest question , Would anyone call Gary Kirsten names after his loyalty to Graham Smith , like they did to Peter?
Proteas coach Gary Kirsten says opening batsman Graeme Smith has meant a lot for South Africa and deserves more time than others to find his feet.
The pressure is firmly on the former ODI skipper ahead of the fourth ODI against Sri Lanka in Kimberley on Friday.
Smith’s form in one-day cricket this season is woeful. In six innings he has mustered only 116 runs at an average of 19.33. His form over the last few years is also not much to write home about. In 2010 he averaged 32.80, in 2011 27.93 and his 2012 average currently stands at 12.
The 30-year-old’s last ODI century for his country was against England back in 2009.
“He’s going through a tough time and he realises it,” Kirsten told Volksblad.
It seems the cyclone is gone and the 2nd one is missing us. The Hoedspruit community stood together and some roads were repaired , even before the Municipality send out investigators. With all the tender corruption and bribes involved in SA that saved us about 3 months time. Proudly Hoedspruit.
http://m.news24.com/beeld/Suid-Afrika/Nuus/Almal-wil-help-20120119
I had high hope for PDV when he was appointed, but with his foot in mouth personality, and some shocking results, I started doubting, but with all the talent at his disposal, he should have had much better results at his disposal. Maybe a stint as assistantcoach would have been better for him before he took over as head coach.
Is still wish him all the best when his career with the Bokke is finally over.
Ja Snorflokker, you are right, SARU has left it too late, the dumb farks!
Man, if even Snor can see that SARU is farking up, then you must know how bad it actually is at SARU.
2@ superBul:I think the Gary Kirsten issue is an interesting one. After the ‘friendship’ factor came out, it has put a lot of pressure on Kirsten, and if Smith doesn’t perform, I really think Kirsten will start to lose favour with the ‘paps’, and like everything, will get worse if he continues down the same track. He is not infallible, and anyone can become vilified by the press
Kirsten is still very new in the job. But the difference between Smith and John Smit, is that GS is no longer the one day captain. John Smit was Snorre’s captain. If Kirsten continues with Smith, and there are no results, then we can start going on about the friendship. However, that report was pure speculation on Proccie’s side, but then he does alsoknow the way cricket works.
The reality, Susan, is that GH ran the team, Divvy didn’t. Sure, he was part of the team, and sure, he would have had a lot of valuable input, but the reality is that the senior members were in charge, and under the leadership of Matfield and Smit. Was this right/wrong, well that is another debate, but, with out either Smit or Matfield there, is there really the – “… PDV has experience and knowledge gained during his 4 years and i reckon given another 4 years we will see the fruit of his experience” – experience there. Would he be able to continue with the way the books were playing, or, now that the big boys have retired, would he implement another strategy.
So in answer to your comment, Susan, I don’t think that Divvy has the experience to carry the bok team forward, and the experience has retired. He may well have a vision, but then so will Meyer, Smal and all the other contenders – perhaps then it IS time to give another vision a chance.
Kirsten is a very experienced coach, despite changing the team he is coaching. I don’t agree with his stance on Smith (who I think should be dropped), but after his stint in the sub-continent and his record as a player and a person I have sufficient respect for Gary Kirsten to give him leniency here. Smith hasn’t lost talent, he has lost interest and that is Kirstens main job here, to get him interested again. I haven’t looked to see how Smith has done today yet. Will do so now.
OK I see Smith hit 68 off 69 balls and opened….so not too shabby. Abie went one better. Its a step in the right direction and he scored quickly, so hopefully his mind is right and hesitancy is gone. PDV as caretaker coach……they are doing the man a disservice. Where is he going to find another job now once his stint is over? His year is ruined. SARU really are a bunch of inept fools I must say.
4man wrote:
4man you are so bloody knowledgeable. i love your comments , even though you are a Shark
WHAT A CATCH ALVIRO
It took Kirsten some time to make India a winning team. You don’t walk into a team and things change like putting on a light switch. Look was is happening to the India team now that Kirtsen has left.
The key question when evaluting a coach at the early part of his tenure is whether there is evidence of steady improvement in terms of individual skills, and better structure and cohesiveness at key components of the game. Does the new coach have a vision and are he working towards it?
PdV brough none of that to the Springbok team. There was a consitent decline during his tenure and it was the likes of Smith and Matfield that kept things intact.
McLook wrote:
VM was my “hero” but in his book he said things that worried me. He consistently played with injuries. According to his own book he was in bad shape for a very long period. He either lied a lot to the coach or Peter could not see his way forward without VM.
Although i praised PdeV a lot for his loyalty it now seems it was not such a great thing. Was he too weak to take on the likes of VM and JS?
In his book Victor said numerous times that he passed his fitness tests late in the week, sometimes a day before a test. That to me is completely wrong, the mood in the camp could be affected , his own mental preparation could not be the best… But then again by never giving up , that could also motivate others in the team. I dont really know, but in his book i felt he was either seeking sympathy or he played games when he was not 100% fit.If JS and others did the same thing, one can understand why the Boks fell short in many close games.
In a follow up report City Press had this article Today
The South African Rugby Union (SARU) could spring a massive surprise next week and retain incumbent Springbok coach Peter de Villiers as a caretaker coach for the upcoming three-Test series against England.
This is one of the options being mulled as the deadline to appoint the new Bok coach fast approaches, with all three of the contenders on the short-list currently under contract at other Rugby Unions.
According to top sources close to the process, this is more than just a possibility at the moment. SARU have previously indicated that they are aiming for January 27 as the date to ratify the appointment of the coach, after receiving the recommendation a day earlier.
But if the right candidate cannot be secured by this date, this proposed option has been put forward as an alternative to ensure the Springboks get the right coach for the future.
While SARU chief executive Jurie Roux has been hard at work in head-hunting the new coach, the contractual commitments that three of the four short-listed candidates have has made it difficult to snare the right candidate before next week’s deadline.
It has now emerged that SARU are considering an option to ask De Villiers to stay on for six months so that his successor can be successfully signed on. This would mean he would prepare the Bok team for the England series in June, before handing over the reins to his successor for the Castle Rugby Championship in September.
“This is the most important decision we have to make as SARU and appointing the best man for the job is critical,” Roux said in December, underlining the importance in getting the right candidate.
“The skills and qualities required by a Springbok coach are confined to only a small number of potential candidates.”
De Villiers has said more than once that he is willing to stay on to mentor his successor, and has publicly indicated that a proper hand-over would be necessary to ensure the succession process is handled as it should be.
The three-week tour by England is looming large as it comes in the middle of the Vodacom Super Rugby tournament, and starts a week after local players play in two massive derbies in the competition.
While the Boks will run out against England on June 9, the previous weekend sees the Sharks taking on the Cheetahs while the Stormers face the Bulls. A day later the Bok coach will start his preparations for the England games.
While SARU have made no public acknowledgements, Stormers coach Allister Coetzee, Bulls Director of coaching Heyneke Meyer and Ireland assistant coach Gert Smal are rumoured to be on the short-list, with De Villiers completing the quartet as the incumbent.
However, while Smal is said to be the front runner, his contractual obligations to Ireland, where he recently signed a three year extension to his contract, have made things difficult in negotiations. Coupled with the fact that his son finishes school in Ireland in June, it has made Smal a difficult proposition as coach.
Meyer was only appointed in his position last year and while he was prevented by a political decision from getting the job in 2007, his track record and motivational capabilities are beyond question. The Bulls, however would not be keen to part with him as he has just begun rebuilding the Bulls franchise with head coach Frans Ludeke after the exodus of Springbok players after the World Cup.
The Stormers sit with the same conundrum with Allister Coetzee. After Rassie Erasmus’ resignation last week, the Stormers coach is unlikely to find favour with his own Board of Directors if SA Rugby does come knocking.
The scenario to keep De Villiers on for another six months has found some favour especially as it would allow Smal to complete the Six Nations tournament with Ireland while the Bulls and Stormers may be more accepting if they knew they had their assets available for the Super Rugby competition.
Smal and Coetzee were assistant coaches to Jake White when he won the World Cup in 2007, with Smal also boasting two Currie Cup titles to his name.
Meyer, assistant coach to Nick Mallett in the World-record equalling run of 17 unbeaten wins, built the Bulls empire in the last decade with a Super 14 win in 2007 and four Currie Cup titles in-between.SARU have stuck to their pledge not to comment on the appointment, with GM: Communications Andy Colquhoun confirming only “that Peter de Villiers is on the shortlist”.
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