Springboks Historical New Coach
January 23rd 2008 22:30
PETER de Villiers has been named the first black coach of Rugby World champions South Africa.
Apologies for the 'cut and paste' but this article has some interesting points that I knew nothing about. I'm not lazy. I'm just not here.
from The Courier Mail
Apologies for the 'cut and paste' but this article has some interesting points that I knew nothing about. I'm not lazy. I'm just not here.
from The Courier Mail
The 50-year-old South Africa under-21 coach succeeds Jake White, who guided the Springboks to victory in the World Cup final against England in Paris in October.
"Peter has created history today by becoming the first black person to coach the Springboks," SARU president Regan Hoskins said overnight.
"He is a strong leader and a coach with a proven track record. We trust that the rugby fraternity will support him and the team as we embark on an exciting new phase of our proud rugby history."
White departed in acrimonious circumstances when he criticised the South African Rugby Union (SARU) for not allowing him time to consider staying on.
The SARU said White had already made it clear that he did not want to continue in the role.
De Villiers followed White's route to the job by also leading the under-21s to the IRB title in 2005.
He was chosen from a shortlist of four candidates that also included 1995 World Cup winner Chester Williams, Springbok backline coach Allister Coetzee and Bulls Super 14 coach Heyneke Meyer.
Meyer was the main rival to De Villiers.
He is the most successful South African provincial coach of the post-isolation era - and favourite for the job among players. Meyer received 77 percent of a vote among 258 members of the South African Rugby Players' Association (SARPA).
However De Villiers's promise as a coach who could increase the speed of transformation of a largely white team weighed just as strongly in his favour with SARU, Hoskins said.
"I want to be honest with South Africa and say that the appointment was not entirely made for rugby reasons," Hoskins said.
"We as an organisation have made the appointment and taken into account the issue of transformation very very seriously when we made it. I don't think that tarnishes Peter - I'm just being honest with our country."
De Villiers said: "You dream of being a Springbok player and if you can't be a player you dream of being a Springbok coach and that has become a reality for me now.
"I am very privileged to be in this position of taking over a great squad of players but this is where the hard work begins. To make wholesale changes would be stupid."
De Villiers comes to the job with more coaching experience than his predecessor White.
He coached amateur club rugby for 10 years before taking on a succession of roles with SARU.
He won the IRB Under-21 title in Argentina in 2005 and finished second to the hosts in France a year later and last year coached the Emerging Springbok side to the IRB Nations Cup title in Romania. He also had two seasons coaching the Falcons in the Currie Cup.
De Villiers's first test match in charge is against Wales in Bloemfontein on June 7.
"Peter has created history today by becoming the first black person to coach the Springboks," SARU president Regan Hoskins said overnight.
"He is a strong leader and a coach with a proven track record. We trust that the rugby fraternity will support him and the team as we embark on an exciting new phase of our proud rugby history."
White departed in acrimonious circumstances when he criticised the South African Rugby Union (SARU) for not allowing him time to consider staying on.
The SARU said White had already made it clear that he did not want to continue in the role.
De Villiers followed White's route to the job by also leading the under-21s to the IRB title in 2005.
He was chosen from a shortlist of four candidates that also included 1995 World Cup winner Chester Williams, Springbok backline coach Allister Coetzee and Bulls Super 14 coach Heyneke Meyer.
Meyer was the main rival to De Villiers.
He is the most successful South African provincial coach of the post-isolation era - and favourite for the job among players. Meyer received 77 percent of a vote among 258 members of the South African Rugby Players' Association (SARPA).
However De Villiers's promise as a coach who could increase the speed of transformation of a largely white team weighed just as strongly in his favour with SARU, Hoskins said.
"I want to be honest with South Africa and say that the appointment was not entirely made for rugby reasons," Hoskins said.
"We as an organisation have made the appointment and taken into account the issue of transformation very very seriously when we made it. I don't think that tarnishes Peter - I'm just being honest with our country."
De Villiers said: "You dream of being a Springbok player and if you can't be a player you dream of being a Springbok coach and that has become a reality for me now.
"I am very privileged to be in this position of taking over a great squad of players but this is where the hard work begins. To make wholesale changes would be stupid."
De Villiers comes to the job with more coaching experience than his predecessor White.
He coached amateur club rugby for 10 years before taking on a succession of roles with SARU.
He won the IRB Under-21 title in Argentina in 2005 and finished second to the hosts in France a year later and last year coached the Emerging Springbok side to the IRB Nations Cup title in Romania. He also had two seasons coaching the Falcons in the Currie Cup.
De Villiers's first test match in charge is against Wales in Bloemfontein on June 7.
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