Zeena Isaacs
18 December 2008
opinion
Johannesburg — WITH 2008 almost at a close and the international rugby season wrapped up, it is fitting to congratulate Springbok coach Peter de Villiers for a job well done. He took over the hot seat under a cloud after revelations that political influences during the voting process robbed Super 14-winning Bulls coach Heyneke Meyer of the national coaching job.
But with nine wins in 13 games in his first year at the helm, it is safe to say De Villiers has had the last laugh.
These statistics compare favourably with Rugby World Cup-winning Springbok coach Jake White, who also guided the Springboks to nine wins in 13 games in his first season.
De Villiers was written off by critics because of his lack of experience at top-level coaching, despite his impeccable credentials at under-19 and under-21 level, and many waited for him to fail.
A select few had so little faith in the new Springbok coach that they were willing to bet that he would be fired by the end of his first year.
With that in mind, De Villiers can take a bow.
He may not have a TriNations title to his name like his predecessor White.
But there were enough positives to suggest that De Villiers has what it takes to be a good international coach.
The record victories against Australia (53-8) in the TriNations and England (42-6) on the year-end tour to the UK, and the team's first win in Dunedin are evidence of that.
His transformation rate also speaks for itself, with black players such as prop Tendai Mtawarira, wing Jongi Nokwe, fullback Conrad Jantjes and centre Adrian Jacobs all making names for themselves in the international arena following their impressive performances.
Mtawarira filled legendary Springbok prop Os du Randt's boots well -- which is a huge feat -- while Jantjes proved to be the perfect replacement for SA's most capped player, retired fullback Percy Montgomery.
Jacobs, meanwhile, achieved the unthinkable by denying World Cup-winning outside centre Jaque Fourie a place in the Bok starting line-up this season after returning from a string of injuries.
De Villiers also successfully converted Springbok captain and hooker John Smit into a tighthead prop, and utility back Ruan Pienaar into a potential world-class flyhalf.
For the first time in years, the crop of talented players who can hold their own at international level looks brighter than ever, thanks to De Villiers.
The coach was always going to be judged on results and his transformation statistics, and he passed both.
But what has made De Villiers a special coach is the pearlers that have come out of a few press conferences, which had the media and public in fits of laughter on several occasions.
Some of his gems were: "If you want to run with the big dogs then sometimes you have to lift your leg"; and, "If you look at the Bible, Joseph started out in the pit and ended up in the palace. There was a moerse lot of kak in between."
Another quote that few could forget was: "There's little difference between winning and losing, except that one feels better after winning."
For some of the local media, De Villiers's media briefings have become almost as entertaining as Saracens director of rugby and former Springbok technical adviser Eddie Jones's press conferences.
And the best part about it is that De Villiers's flamboyant sayings come naturally.
With the British and Irish Lions tour next year, followed by the gruelling Tri-Nations series, De Villiers will have an even tougher year in terms of the quality of the opposition.
But if his team can build on their success this season and he remains as positive and humorous as he was last season, De Villiers's favourite saying, "Even the bad days are good", could prove true.
Isaacs is rugby correspondent.
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