It is HEYNEKE MEYER!

The South African Rugby Union on Friday put the entire world out of its misery by confirming the worst-kept secret - Heyneke Meyer is the new Springbok coach.

At a media briefing in Cape Town they confirmed that the Bulls supremo, Meyer, has replaced Peter de Villiers as the national team's mentor.

His contract is for a period of four years.

It has been widely speculated in the media that Meyer, SARU's preferred candidate, had beaten off the challenge of Ireland forwards coach Gert  Smal.

The Blue Bulls Company let the cat out of the bag earlier this week when they confirmed that SARU vice-President James Stoffberg and SARU CEO Jurie Roux had met with the company's board in Pretoria.

SARU, in a later dispatch from Newlands, also confirmed that they intended to employ Meyer as the new Springbok mentor, effectively pre-empting Friday's announcement.

This followed months of speculation regarding the favoured candidates for the position.

Meyer and Ireland forwards coach Gert Smal were tipped as the frontrunners to replace De Villiers, who led the Springboks to the quarterfinals of last year's World Cup in New Zealand. Allister Coetzee, who was also linked to the SARU shortlist, and De Villiers were never really in the race.

Meyer was the favourite out of four shortlisted candidates four years ago to succeed World Cup-winning mentor Jake White, but lost out to De Villiers at the 11th hour.

SARU President Oregan Hoskins said at the time that transformation had played an important role in the appointment of De Villiers.

Meyer guided the Bulls to South Africa's second Super Rugby title in 2007 and won four Currie Cup titles with the union, lifting the Blue Bulls from the doldrums and making them one of the most successful provincial teams in the rugby world.