PdV: ‘I am the boss’
7 Dec 2009
SA Rugby magazine’s hard-hitting interview with the Springbok coach.
Your critics say that your technical knowledge of the game is poor, and that all the technical stuff surrounding the Boks’ game plan comes from your assistant coaches and the senior players. What’s your response to that?
I went to Wales to do my level-two coaching course, and paid my own way. The way it works is that you do the course and then go coach for another two years before you return to do the level-three course. I had just come back to South Africa when the Welsh Rugby Union called me and said they were so impressed by my technical knowledge of the game that they wanted me to do the next course straight away. I chose to do those courses in Wales, because I’ve always admired the great players they had in the ’70s, like Gareth Edwards and JPR Williams. I knew I would be working with equally talented players back in South Africa.
So you do make technical contributions in the Bok set-up?
Of course. When I said the All Blacks were scrumming illegally in last year’s Tri-Nations, I had video footage to back it up. No one else in the Bok squad had spotted it. The same thing happened when I questioned the Wallabies’ scrumming methods this year. I was the only person who saw what they were doing. I also make technical observations about other areas of the game, like lineouts and attack.
Do the senior Boks run the show as some have suggested?
Let me make one thing clear – I am the boss, I am the CEO of South African rugby.
In John Smit’s autobiography he explains how the coaches and the senior players meet the day after a Test to plot the way forward for the week ahead. Why did you decide to have such a democratic process?
A good CEO doesn’t make every decision on his own, he consults with other senior people in the company and gets their input. Why would I not want to listen to my assistant coaches and senior players like John and Victor [Matfield]? They all have something to offer. But the final decision on how we play rests with me.
There’s a rumour going around that Dick Muir made those controversial substitutions against the Lions in the first Test in Durban. True or false?
Let me explain. My voice isn’t suited to the radio we use [to communicate with the staff on the sideline] as I talk too quickly and my voice goes high and then low. Why would I want to talk when I can make use of Dick’s strong voice?
But does the message to make the substitutions come from you?
Yes.
So why did you make all those changes when the Boks were 19 points ahead and in complete control?
You know, if I could have done it over again, I would have made them earlier, because I could see the guys were getting tired and went into a defensive mode. By the time I brought the fresh legs on we couldn’t get out of that defensive mode.
Smit believes the Boks would have won by 25 points if those changes had not been made.
No, I don’t agree with him.
Do you regret the way you handled the Schalk Burger ‘eye-gouging’ episode after the second Lions Test in Pretoria?
No, I don’t.
Why didn’t you just tell the British and Irish journalists at the post-match press conference that you couldn’t comment until you had watched the video? In the end, Smit had to step in and say that.
Why should I have had to do that? The South African journalists in the room should have asked me what it was like to have beaten the Lions in a series. But you sat back and let them ask me those questions [about Burger]. You wanted to see me fail.
But you could have stopped their line of questioning yourself. Why rely on the local media?
No, you should have stopped them. You were all intimidated by them. I saw the look in your faces.
So you have no regrets at all about that press conference and the following one on the Monday?
I regret confusing the words ‘condone’ and ‘condemn’. If I had spoken to [the foreign media] in Afrikaans, I would have won that battle easily.
Then why didn’t you?
No, why man? I just got one word wrong.
Were you given a dressing down at that meeting with SA Rugby after the Lions series?
No, it was just a meeting to discuss the progress of the team. We had a similar meeting at the end of last year.
But you seemed to choose your words far more carefully at press conferences after that meeting. You were a changed man during the Tri-Nations.
I didn’t change. You [the media] changed because we were winning. I will never change. That’s why I say ‘I am who I am and I don’t give a damn’.
Why do you think the South African rugby media want you to fail?
Because your man didn’t get the job.
Who? Heyneke Meyer?
You said it, not me.
Do you think some of the media are racist?
You said it, not me.
Do they irritate you during press conferences?
I know that most of them have played rugby before, but I can tell by their questions that they haven’t played at a very high level. If it hadn’t been for apartheid, I would have played for the Boks.
Let’s go back to the beginning of your stint as Bok coach on the day you got the job. How did you feel when [Saru president] Regan Hoskins said your appointment was ‘not for purely rugby reasons’?
I don’t let the bad things in life affect me.
But how did you feel when you heard those words?
I felt nothing. Regan is entitled to his opinion and it didn’t bother me at all. I know I’m a good coach and that I deserve to be where I am today.
The Boks finished last in the 2008 Tri-Nations after starting the tournament as favourites. Why did you choose to abandon a structured approach for a more expansive one?
What laws were we playing under? We had to adapt our game because of the ELVs. I never said that I didn’t like structure, I said we would play total rugby. When I got the job as coach I said I wanted to take the Boks to the next level.
So you don’t regret adopting the game plan used last year?
No.
Then why the return to a more structured game plan in this year’s Tri-Nations if total rugby was the way to go?
The message came from me that we should kick more this year. Then because we had kicked so much [in the three home Tri-Nations Tests], we were able to surprise the Wallabies in Perth with a running game that resulted in four tries.
What was your lowest point of that somewhat difficult 2008 season?
The sex-tape story, which wasn’t true. I had to watch my 82-year-old mother cry.
Before you were appointed as Bok coach, there was talk that you’d pick 10 black players in the starting line-up if you got the job, yet you finished the Tri-Nations with only two black wings and a black Zimbabwean prop who wasn’t eligible when Jake White was coach. Have you failed in terms of transformation?
If a racist white guy voted for the National Party, but then changed his views after 1994, that is transformation. The Springbok team has been transformed because the colour of a player’s skin doesn’t matter anymore. I’m not going to pick black players to make up the numbers, because I will do them more harm than good.
But there were still only three players in the Bok starting XV. Isn’t that a concern?
Look, I think Adi Jacobs is the No 1 centre in the country, but he got injured and by the time he was fit Jean de Villiers and Jaque Fourie were doing well together so I couldn’t drop either of them. Ricky Januarie is an excellent scrumhalf, but I can’t drop Fourie du Preez. And Conrad Jantjes broke his leg earlier this season. We could have had six players of colour in the starting XV in different circumstances.
But you only had three which is why you were slammed by that transformation committee.
What have they done for the good of this country? What contribution have they made?
You’ve said that the Super 14 coaches are to blame for the lack of black players coming through. Do you stand by that?
Yes, they don’t think black players can make it at that level.
Would the situation be different if three of our five Super 14 coaches were black?
You said it, not me.
Do black players and coaches have to work twice as hard to get the same recognition and plaudits as their white counterparts?
Of course! I’ve had to work 10 times harder than any other white coach to get to where I am today. Why wasn’t I ever offered a coaching job at Super Rugby level?
Is there something wrong with the system when someone like Frans Ludeke, who failed dismally with the Cats/Lions, gets the Bulls job?
You said it, not me.
You have a high profile as Bok coach and earn a big salary. Has that changed you as a person?
I haven’t changed. I still live in the same house in the same area [in Paarl]. It will be hard for me to leave because I want the people in my area to be proud of the fact that they are living near the Bok coach. I still drive the same car that I had before I got the Bok job. It just needs to get me from A to B.
Do people you know expect more from you? Do they ever come and ask you for money to help them buy a car or pay off a loan?
No, do I look like a charity?
By Simon Borchardt
– This article first appeared in the November issue of SA Rugby magazine
494 Comments
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7 Dec 2009, 18:12 pm
@Sheriff:
But how do we establish the matching of the text to the interview stenogram? no newspaper published this interview and no TV shown it yet
The paragraph about JS is WELL edited, it’s no secret that JS, VM and VdP ran the Boks in 2009, the story was published in Aus, NZ and the UK, last week Keo himself reiterated it!
@Dawn:
Waiting for what girl?
I haven’t said anything offensive about the Boykies, I merely questioning the validity and the authenticity of the PdV ‘interview’ by Simon, I believe it’s a fabrication handed down by a SARU PR
7 Dec 2009, 18:17 pm
@Hondo: Yep…this is how we do PR in SA ….all behind the scenes with all the right words so we don’t **** it up in front of the camera…I Believe…
7 Dec 2009, 18:22 pm
@Dawn:
For your eyes only:
(source: saruby.com, just punch in your search engine: ryno benjamin and drug charge)
“Rose and Benjamin to appear in court
From the press 9/9/2008
Golden Lions rugby players Earl Rose and Ryno Benjamin will appear in the Randburg magistrates court today on alleged drug dealing charges.
The two Lions players will appear in the dock alongside two other co-accused in charges relating to their arrest on 31 January of this year.
Rose and Benjamin were arrested in January after being found in a flat in Fontainebleau, Randburg which contained a significant amount of illegal substances.
The amount of drugs found in the flat has prompted the state to prosecute the players on intent to deal charges.
A Golden Lions representative claimed that the drugs had been “planted”.
“We are aware of the charges against them. But according to our own lawyers’ investigation into the case, the drugs were planted on the players,” GLRU chief executive Manie Reyneke told the Beeld newspaper on Monday.
“We are convinced the case against them won’t continue.” he said.
With thanks to the Beeld. “
7 Dec 2009, 18:50 pm
Let`s take snor`s appointment of bok coach and put it into perspective.He is nothing but a QUOTA coach who happened to be at the WRIGHT place at the WRONG time as far as SA rugby is concerened.I wonder if snor had been a white person would he have got the job as bok coach before HM i think not,and if i am wright in what i think then the only reason he got the job of bok coach was in the eyes of the ANC RUN SA RUGBY BOARD he was the correct political choice for the non whites in sa and he would help to make them look good in the eyes of the electorate at election time.Snor will be nothing other than a QUOTA coach and he was lucky that he had inheritted JAKE WHITE`S world cup winners to help him.I would like to see how he would cope with what jake white had to put up with from the SARB and still his team became world champions.I wonder if he could build a team from scratch and win a world cup i think not.If he is so proud of being non white why has he not got two white coaches instead of two non white coaches to assist him.Snor`s appointment was nothing less than disgraceful and a real slap to HM any decent rugby coach IN SA.I hope any future appointments as bok coach will go on experience and not along racial lines as this appointment did.
7 Dec 2009, 19:22 pm
@blueboy: feel better now?
7 Dec 2009, 19:33 pm
@blueboy:
Snor is a good exponent of bottle stores though
7 Dec 2009, 20:08 pm
@ blueboy 352: Any new observations or are you just hopping on the “I hate PdV” bandwagon like the other hillbillies?
7 Dec 2009, 20:18 pm
Actually i hope the greatest goes on to even greater things and actually having seen some of these comments i hope he actually picks some new players and goes on with that lot…cos there going to be some redfaced when this fella lifts the cup in 2011.
what more you want, we;ve just had a better year under PdV then we;ve ever had with the same players under white or with any other team for that matter?
7 Dec 2009, 20:48 pm
@blueboy: Grow up.
7 Dec 2009, 20:57 pm
Blueboy, I was not aware that Jake White had issues with the SA Reserve Bank? Did he violate the Exchange Controls? Exceed his travel or investment allowances?
7 Dec 2009, 21:28 pm
WPTID,
lmga.
7 Dec 2009, 21:31 pm
Hope you win us a 2nd tri nations Pieter. All good coaches must have a bad day. At least we did what was important. The all blacks will be back though. Its the bloody air new zealand cup. Eventhough alot of the all black big names were missing they still had an abundance of talent.
7 Dec 2009, 21:45 pm
it surprises me that if black people discriminate against coloured, white and indian people then it seems all ok, like the South African Government’s Affirmative Action Policies which are run along exactly the same lines as the apartheid governments policies i.e discriminating on the basis of colour in our case against anyone who is not black and when i talk of ‘black’ this excludes coloureds and indian folk. it seems the current racist policies promolgated through various discriminatory statutes are a flip side of the previous apartheid govt laws when it comes affirmative action. Affirmative action is just a pretty phrase used to disguise racist actions.
7 Dec 2009, 22:02 pm
Go to u tube and watch the following:
a. Jake White appointment as coach 2004
b. Jake’s new boss
Check out especially b if you want to understand the definition of bullsh*t
7 Dec 2009, 22:03 pm
@byoboy: well DUH…
where have you been sleeping for the last 14 years?
Jy moet slaap by die nag…
7 Dec 2009, 22:04 pm
@byoboy: hey “suprised” einstein! How bout you propose an innovative way to redress the imbalances brought about by a systematic and deliberate disenfranchising of the majority of the people of this country that handed a racist minority a +/- four decades long head start!
Do you have a quick fix solution to the man-made human wastelands that are the townships, i can go on. If you don’t have valid & practical solutions then shut your “chip on the shoulder” trap.
7 Dec 2009, 22:13 pm
Its quite strange how the same bloggers appear here when its an allout anti-pdv war. They only incite for fun I hope, but if they seriously believe their deluded ideas? EISH
7 Dec 2009, 22:16 pm
@Transformation: my solution would be a “partnership” between the holders of knowledge and the thirsty for knowledge.
you and i both know that it should have been done 15 years, no, 50 years ago!
but the anc missed the boat. so many reasons though, i will admit.
but ja, it can still work and it cant be more expensive than the stop start, non delivery due to lack of practical experience/training than we have endured the last 14 years.
partnerships.
they are the only hope for all of us.
7 Dec 2009, 22:20 pm
Rangerman, you looking for a partner in your illegal warthog meat business? Scaly b@stard!
7 Dec 2009, 22:22 pm
@Slappes: haha, i got asked to find someone a warthog for christmas today.
hehe….tasty little pigs.
7 Dec 2009, 22:24 pm
@Brigadier Van Zyl: in SA currently black people have to work half as hard and still get promoted despite their white competitiors overachieving – look at our man Heyneke…
7 Dec 2009, 22:27 pm
@Slappes:
the shallowpig is the (silent) partner…unfortunately it suffers from a lack of empowerement
7 Dec 2009, 22:28 pm
Rangerman, you serious? Thought the meat would tough and fatty? OK, how bout skunk meat then.
7 Dec 2009, 22:29 pm
@SjamBok: not strictly true sjambok.
the vast majority of black people have no access to resources, contacts (political or otherwise), quality education, broadened horizons, or even the internet, to take advantage of the opportunities available due to government policies.
so we have a black elite instead of a black middle class.
a tragedy.
7 Dec 2009, 22:31 pm
@Slappes:
the shallow pig has a delicious, slightly gamey flavour…especially when it has been eating the lucerne of the safari suit…
7 Dec 2009, 22:31 pm
@gunther: i empower it by giving it equal access to my weber.
i am no specist.
@Slappes: skunk? not often available unless you import.
i will deposit one in your car heating system, lets say next july?
7 Dec 2009, 22:31 pm
@Slappes: are you saying ranger is the real crocodile dundee?
dundee: the town in kzn…
7 Dec 2009, 22:33 pm
Gunther,
yeah ol Rangy always looking to be shallow, esp when he sells warthog meat as kudu steaks.
7 Dec 2009, 22:34 pm
Hows all… I see Keo has decided Low is not low enough.. Simon is proof enough that Black journalist have to work 100times harder to get a job… How does this doos manage to keep his job in a competitive job market… Still good to be white??… I think that Keo is actualy a devious black man looking to degrade black people. How else do you explains his employment of Simon. He wants to show the world that most White people are twats and white supremacy is a myth
Wow comrade Keo.. Long live
7 Dec 2009, 22:35 pm
is wartie good eating?
7 Dec 2009, 22:36 pm
@rangerman:
i’ll go along with that, the internet has broadened my horizons considerably….
7 Dec 2009, 22:36 pm
the hardest thing about preparing game meat is avoiding drying it out completely. this is because the meat is usually extremely lean.
a lot of people who have tried venison once will never try it again because it is badly prepared.
contrary to popular belief, it holds no pungent smell and the “gamey” flavour is referred to as “taste” in all other meats.
very healthy too.
but warthog?
because warthog has more fat than other game meats, it is far easier to prepare and much harder to botch, for the average person who isnt familiar with preparing venison
potjies are another option.
7 Dec 2009, 22:36 pm
This should read: ( Small error in my last post)
Hows all… I see Keo has decided Low is not low enough.. Simon is proof enough that Black journalist have to work 100times harder to get a job… How does this doos manage to keep his job in a competitive job market… Still good to be white??… I think that Keo is actualy a devious black man looking to degrade white people.
How else do you explains his employment of Simon. He wants to show the world that most White people are twats and white supremacy is a myth
Wow comrade Keo.. Long live
7 Dec 2009, 22:38 pm
Rangerman,
eish that ought to smell nice. Transformation , yep only difference is Rangerman specialises in roadkilled meat.
7 Dec 2009, 22:38 pm
@rangerman:
not true judah sells me excellent skunk from the transkei…
7 Dec 2009, 22:38 pm
@Transformation: i dont go to dundee often.
@cab: great eating.
@gunther: ja, i am sure. you visit ukraine every night eh?
7 Dec 2009, 22:40 pm
volstruis has become huge in Sa.
if ou doos had his way, we;d be braaing herbed cactus or somthing.
7 Dec 2009, 22:40 pm
@Slappes: so much easier to stew when it is already falling off the bone
@gunther:
hahaha! excellent. i had some skunk in the transei not so long ago…round transies old stomping grounds of mtentu.
paradise. desmond the rasts be showing me round mon.
7 Dec 2009, 22:41 pm
@rangerman: is it similar to the bigger wild pigs Ranger?
7 Dec 2009, 22:41 pm
@cab: worked for a while in mexico. then they went off their rockers
give me a good steak anytime.
7 Dec 2009, 22:43 pm
Ranger, what about warthog bacon?
7 Dec 2009, 22:43 pm
@Slappes:
roadkill is listed under rangers menu as “dry aged” meat….
7 Dec 2009, 22:45 pm
So a white coach that jumps ship when he realizes the writing’s on the wall is over achieving? Takes five years to win the S14 (by luck it must be added)? I say let pDV not be judged by such mediocre standards. Mind you he has really set the bar 3N (5-1);BIL (2-1) ABs (3-0).
7 Dec 2009, 22:45 pm
@Slappes:
it is not easy to make bacon from the shallow pig…you have to get lucky and find one that has been run over by a combine harvester…
7 Dec 2009, 22:45 pm
@rangerman:
really? volstruis in mexico. i heard they introduced some tigers into SA and taught them to hunt.
talking of bush big and the ukraine, apparently the eatern europeans get these monster boar of around 200kg plus, hell its bigger than a leeu…and thats just the vrouens.
7 Dec 2009, 22:45 pm
I see my biltong recipe has everyone’s taste buds going.
Full on Home Economics class here led by Bushy.
7 Dec 2009, 22:46 pm
@poppa69: warthog is a little less fatty than a wild boar.
i am assuming here poppa. we have two wild pig species in south africa, a bushpig which is nocturnal and a warthog which is active during the day (diurnal).
the bushpig is a lot like a wild boar whilst the warthog lives in burrows at night and is the chappy with the curly, prominent tusks (they are adapted canines unlike the tusks of eles that are adapted incisors).
both are mmmmm good.
cheap as chips too, if you can get them (which makes no sense i think).
7 Dec 2009, 22:46 pm
@rangerman: that is assuming the so-called holders of knowledge come into the partnership with genuine intentions…
I’ve seen gardeners & domestics registered as shareholders by the baas to exploit government resources…i know we can cite examples of corrupt behaviour until the cows come home…
7 Dec 2009, 22:46 pm
I only eat THA CHICKEN!
7 Dec 2009, 22:47 pm
@cab: I ate herbed cactus in Sedona Arizona. It must be said that it was kak. Had to drink quite a lot to get over it.
My son had rattlesnake, that was not great either.
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