Give De Villiers a chance

Former Springbok centre Robbie Fleck returns to your screens this week, with sport365s star columnist giving his views on the appointment of Peter de Villiers as the newest Bok coach.

Hello there and sorry about the radio silence over the past few months... My last column was written after the Springboks' quarter-final win over Fiji, but a variety of commitments - amongst them playing for the SA Legends team in Bermuda! - kept me from meeting my deadlines for the rest of the World Cup.

Anyway, enough excuses, let's move forward and tackle the lastest rugby issues in the exciting world that is South African rugby. (Or should that be the always controversial world of SA rugby?)

Of course, the big news at the moment is the appointment of Peter de Villiers as Jake White's successor... Just from reading the views of others these past few days, it is fair to say that the rugby public in this country is split down the middle.

There are many, many ways of looking at De Villiers's appointment, but my take is simple; I like it.

I played under De Villiers for a Western Province President's/Disas team in 1997, when I was on the brink of breaking into the WP senior team, and I enjoyed him a lot - as a coach and as a person. Whenever we see each other we have a good chat and a laugh.

Back then it was obvious how much passion he had for the game - he was very approachable and his outlook on the game suited me down to the ground. There was no Jake White-like structure, but rather an emphasis on playing the situation as it is. Purely on his passion and his approach to the game, I'm more than happy with Peter de Villiers as the new Bok coach.

All the doubters out there have pointed to his lack of experience at the highest level, especially when compared to Heyneke Meyer's experience and success with the Bulls. Heyneke has every right to feel aggrieved at having missed out, but his time will come. I learnt plenty from Heyneke when he was at the Stormers in 1999; he is a rugby man through and through and his man-management skills are excellent - but there are realities in our country that cannot be ignored.

Rian Oberholzer sat us all down in Cardiff in 1999 - before the Boks played and lost to Wales at the Millennium Stadium - and told us how things would be changing in SA rugby within two years. Now, nine years later, these changes are a reality and now is as good a time as any and it's exciting to see what could come from this opportunity.

It makes a lot of sense to give a non-white coach a chance to prove himself with SA rugby on a high. Remember, despite the sudden doom and gloom engulfing our game, we are the current world champions and Jake White left some structures in place that Peter will be able to work with. Peter is no fool, he has already said that he intends on working off that base of success last year, but he can bring some flair to the Bok team by giving the players his renowned license to play the way they see it. Imagine what he can achieve by tapping into the likes of John Smit, Victor Matfield, Schalk Burger and Fourie du Preez, whilst also introducing some fresh new ideas and players?

However, while I am positive about De Villiers's appointment, it is hard to ignore the various rumours doing their rounds at present about all the behind-the-scenes politicking. Well, all I can say is that I hope these rumours are not true. The nice thing about De Villiers is that he has no allegiance to any Super 14 or Currie Cup sides and no political connections; he will be picking players on form - as he has already said in the media. If Luke Watson is the best openside flanker in the Super 14, De Villiers will pick him - it shouldn't matter who his father is or how tall or heavy he is.

Like Jake White before him, Peter de Villiers is a true rugby man, he should be given a chance to prove himself as a coach, first and foremost, and he must just ignore all the off-field nonsense and remain true to himself and his players throughout.

He cannot expect any favours from the media, SARU or the success-hungry SA public - he needs the players to get behind him, just like Jake did. It is also very important that Peter surrounds himself with the proper assistant coaches - there are plenty of forwards coaches in South Africa, but why not look abroad for a backline coach? (For the record, I do hope Heyneke Meyer is offered, and accepts, a Director of Rugby-type role at SA Rugby - he would be an excellent shoulder for De Villiers to lean on.)

De Villiers's first year in charge is shaping up as a tough one - two home Tests against Wales, followed by Nick Mallett's Italy (also at home), before back-to-back Tri-Nations Tests against the All Blacks in New Zealand, followed by another away match against the Wallabies. And that's just the away leg of the Tri-Nations, with three more games to come at home - two against the Aussies and one against New Zealand.

The All Blacks will be looking for revenge after their disastrous World Cup campaign, Australia have a new coach... it won't be easy, but De Villiers needs two or three years in the job before a proper assessment can be made.

I, for one, will give him those two/three years, provided, of course, that he trusts his own instincts and stays true to himself - no matter what happens above him.

Chat next week,
Robbie Fleck

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