PdV quits as Boks crash out
9 Oct 2011
Peter de Villiers has quit after coaching the Springboks to a World Cup quarter-final defeat in Wellington.
De Villiers’ contract has expired and after a four year tenure marked by controversy and criticism, he will opt not to put forward his name as a candidate for the now vacant post.
‘Its been a brilliant journey and one that none of you [the media] can take away from me,’ he said. ‘There’s a time to come and a time to go. The journey is over.
‘I enjoyed it. I was in a privileged position to be able to contribute to my country. South African rugby is in a good state and will move forward after this.’
Asked how he wanted to be remembered, De Villiers said: ‘As the best me I could be.’
De Villiers ends his career with a 63% success rate, winning 30 of his 48 Tests. However, measured against the best in the world he has struggled. With the defeat in Wellington this evening his record against Australia dipped to four wins from 12, while he has won just five from 11 against the All Blacks.
De Villiers enjoyed the bulk of his success in 2009, winning a series against the British & Irish Lions, as well as the Tri-Nations. However, outside of that the Springboks have struggled, this with arguably the finest generation of players in decades at his disposal.
His loyalty to captain John Smit, despite the rise of the incomparable Bismarck du Plessis, has elicited severe criticism. He sought out Smit in 2008 while the Test veteran was contracted to French outfit Clermont, offering him the captaincy, then persisting with him despite Smit touching the ceiling of his potential in 2009.
Smit was liberal in his praise of De Villiers. ‘We’ve had a good four years. He isn’t a coach in the usual mould but one we’ve thoroughly enjoyed,’ Smit said. ‘He has given us leeway and space and tightened the reigns when he needed to. He is a great man and coach.’
De Villiers was appointed ahead of superior candidates, most notably Heyneke Meyer, in 2008, South African Rugby Union president Oregan Hoskins citing ‘reasons other than rugby credentials’ as the reason for the decision.
There isn’t a clear favourite for the post. Meyer has signed a long-term deal with the Bulls as their director of rugby and has indicated repeatedly to this website that he isn’t considering applying for the job. The Stormers duo of Rassie Erasmus and Allistair Coetzee are expected to toss their names into the hat, while others like Lions coach John Mitchell and former Saracens head Brendan Venter have been mentioned as possible candidates.
By Ryan Vrede, in Wellington.
695 Comments
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9 Oct 2011, 17:31 pm
@Sheriff(Sheriff)-493:
We got turned over in their 22 because a ref allowed hands in the ruck and bodies lying on the ball.
Thats why we didnt score
Should have gone for more drop kicks!!
9 Oct 2011, 17:31 pm
@David(David)-485: Yep. Attacking was sorley missing from the Stormers backline too.
9 Oct 2011, 17:33 pm
@Mike H(Mike H)-501:
And yes PDV did mostly the right thing as coach.
We should have won today. We didnt tick over points because the ref refused to blow penalties for infridgements as ruck time.
We also didnt have an 2007 Habana
9 Oct 2011, 17:37 pm
If we want a coach with clear insight, reasoning, awareness and an ability to communicate clearly with the press:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=3edrWmUM8KU
And also a COMEDY GENIUS, not afraid to stand up for what he believes in:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FgchHlaSQE
Look no further.
9 Oct 2011, 17:37 pm
@David(David)-482:
Is your “rubbish” incorrectly applied in this instance?
Go back to, and look at, your specific post 482 and it stares you in the face.
Are you only observant for the $ figures, capitalist? Is that “rubbish” too?
9 Oct 2011, 17:37 pm
@ashampoopaloo(joel1yahoo)-494:
You’re an idiot.
You hate JW who took SA from nothing to WC glory but you like PDV who did decently with a WC team?
Is it because he is Black? Pretty sure it is.
Thought PDiv did fine, had some awesome wins under him and he made mosty thright choices.
But dont lambast JW and like PDiv because the gameplan was similar the team similar – pretty similar except Jake knew more about the technical side of rugby than PDiv.
9 Oct 2011, 17:47 pm
@UptheGuts(UptheGuts)-502:
I remember what McKenzie said after his first season with the Reds, when they scored a lot but conceded many more. He reckoned he wasn’t too worried and wouldn’t change their attacking game as all that was needed was for the players to attack in a way that could be defended if it broke down. He believed that it just needed a change in the pattern of the attack.
Our problem, I think, is that our Boks have concentrated on defence to such an extent that they’re more concerned with maintaining their defensive lines and have lost the flexibility to create an instinctive attacking strategy. Exactly the opposite of the Reds.
9 Oct 2011, 17:47 pm
Where is contortionista today
Thought he would be crowing here too?
9 Oct 2011, 17:48 pm
i dont feel so good.
had to lie down after the game and just woke up a short while ago.
am listless, have no apetite and an awful headache…i think i may need to see a doctor in the morning.
i just fell empty right now…
9 Oct 2011, 17:50 pm
@509
Cheer up we gave good account of ourselves in the end.
9 Oct 2011, 17:51 pm
Give this man the job now.
From the Telegraph website,, 21.09.11:
Brendan Venter: Mike Tindall personifies everything that is wrong with England’s attack at Rugby World Cup
England are struggling to break down the best defences in the world due to a lack of explosive game-breakers in key attacking positions.
By Brendan Venter7:15AM BST 21 Sep 2011
They do not have players who are regularly getting them over the gain line and, as a result, their attacking output at the World Cup against the best teams in Test rugby is slow, predictable and very easy to defend.
England badly need strike runners who can get them over that advantage line and provide them with momentum so the next phase can be executed with pace. Once you are over the gain line at pace, the opposition defence doesn’t have enough time to organise itself and you have the upper hand in attack.
For this attacking approach to work you need an inside centre who is a dynamic ball-carrier, like Wales’s Jamie Roberts, but England have chosen to go with Mike Tindall, who has none of this game-breaking ability.
He is the personification of everything that is wrong with England’s attack.
He poses no threat with the ball in hand, he doesn’t have a passing game and he has lost so much of the pace he used to have.
Unfortunately for Martin Johnson and England’s attack coach, Brian Smith, Tindall can no longer be relied upon to break through the first line of defence with speed and purpose. This is a crying shame for England because they have some very special outside backs at their disposal.
If Tindall were punching holes through the middle then England would have quick, front-foot ball that they could use to unleash the likes of Manu Tuilagi, Chris Ashton and Ben Foden. But he’s not, so these players are being starved of any decent attacking ball.
There is very little to differentiate between the best teams in Test rugby. They are all highly motivated and they all have tidy set-pieces and strong defences. What makes the difference is explosive players who can beat their opposite number. When I look at the England team, I don’t see a lot of them.
This is why I think they made a mistake with their 30-man squad because there isn’t really a Plan B in attack. Shontayne Hape, the only real alternative to Tindall, is also fairly sluggish and against the meanest defences in world rugby he lacks the vigour with the ball in hand needed to truly bother his opposite man.
England may have to resort to selecting Jonny Wilkinson and Toby Flood at fly-half and inside centre, and if I was in Johnson’s boots I would genuinely consider it. Flood is a beautiful ball-carrier and looked threatening at times against Georgia. If you combine him with Wilkinson, England would have a much better passing game in those key positions.
Johnson and Smith actually left behind their two best options at inside centre. Riki Flutey – who narrowly missed out on selection having played against Wales in a warm-up match – and Brad Barritt, who plays for my club Saracens.
Flutey offers more than just a bludgeon. He has quick feet and runs beautiful lines off his fly-half. Barritt is a superb all-round player who has the perfect balance of penetrative running, soft hands and solid defence. I have played in two World Cups at centre and I would much rather defend against Tindall or Hape than against Flutey or Barritt.
Yet England may have watched Ireland’s victory over Australia, where no tries were scored, and taken heart from the fact that the regular plot of do-or-die World Cup games is still being played out. In these tight fixtures, normally at the knockout stages, teams are more pressurised, they play less off the cuff and they certainly don’t play multi-phase rugby.
When the stakes are high the defences are infinitely better. So the reality is that there are not lot of tries scored unless there is a major mismatch between the two sides. That will suit England.
It is in these situations that you need your team to have rock-solid basics at the expense of spectacular running rugby. England may argue that they have a good set-piece, a strong scrum and a defence that has only been breached once.
And, given that knockout games are rarely about the side that
scores the most tries, do they actually have a chance of winning a World Cup playing the way they are now?
In 2007, England’s attack was ponderous almost to the point of being non-existent. But they had one of the best set-pieces in the tournament, a defence they could rely on and the kicking game of Wilkinson.
If all the big games at this World Cup are going to be played out in the manner of Ireland’s win in Auckland, then England won’t care about their attacking game.
9 Oct 2011, 17:51 pm
@Dawn(Dawn)-508: he was, a little earlier.
9 Oct 2011, 17:52 pm
Damn chris ain’t batting yet.
But watching him field is just as good
9 Oct 2011, 17:52 pm
“SA’s Jamie Roberts” to get over the advantage line: F. Steyn
We are half way there.
9 Oct 2011, 17:54 pm
Tindall is England’s Spies
9 Oct 2011, 17:55 pm
@Dawn(Dawn)-510:
thanks dawn.
i know they gave everything but they were cheated too, its just not fair.
i thought i hardened up to the way the world is a long, long time ago but i’ve just learned all from over again that life is both cruel and beautiful at the same time…
9 Oct 2011, 17:58 pm
in what sense?
9 Oct 2011, 17:59 pm
@ET.(ET.)-505:
$s, capitalist, what on earth are you referring to? Or are these just labels that are an essential part of your lexicon of generalised accusations?
9 Oct 2011, 17:59 pm
No matter what gets thrown at us
No matter how we brawl amongst ourselves
The team of millions remains the team of millions!
Fridays are special here when everybodyn I mean EVERYBODY no matter colour creed or status in life, wore their jerseys to work, fixed their flags to their cars.
Bowed, but not beaten.
9 Oct 2011, 18:01 pm
@once more unto the breach, dear springboks, once more…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-516:
Mate I have been feeling like that every single international match we have lost over the past 18 months. This is just one more loss to me. We probably would have lost to AB’s anyway.
9 Oct 2011, 18:02 pm
@Dawn(Dawn)-519:
Well said Dawn… I wore my green with pride…and so did most South Africans
9 Oct 2011, 18:02 pm
And you can all bank that post!
Fridays is rugby party day when speakers were set up outside office buildings at lunchtime and people let rip to the music in their jerseys.
Long may it continue, our support for this stunning game. I just wish those guys could’ve seen it!
9 Oct 2011, 18:12 pm
@Mike H(Mike H)-506:
You the f’ng idiot you stupid dumb fck moron
JW was the most limited coach going who would NEVER have beaten this Aussie team in a month of Sundays.. same as he was whacked 49-0 by their counterparts 5 years ago, and annihilated by NZ 7 times out of 9 and by some record margins at home…
Plus he was so far out his depth he had to go crying to an Arsetralian to save his pitiful forlorn hopeless pathetic white arse in order to be even slightly competitive…at a WC where he met NOBODY rated higher than rank 6 which was Argentina who Never came anywhere close to beating Boks EVER..
JW would Never have beaten either the same Wales side or Samoan side we beat this WC .. his closest games in that nonentity gimme WC of 4 years ago were against NOBODIES Fiji and Tonga
He would have been hammered this WC by either of the teams we beat this time and not made the final.. the Bok performances this WC were far better than anything JW ever showed .. all he ever did right was beat a dispirited England team 36-0 and then beat them again by 5 penalty kicks to 2 in the final…
JW is / was an ultimate f’ng doos and you even a bigger one for thinking the sun shines out his self aggrandized feeble pathetic arse…
Boks played better today than they ever played under White .. White would never have won a proper WC where we had to play the best or even the 2nd or 3rd or 4th best.. the last one simply deteriorated into a useless kicking contest between 4th rank team (Boks) and 7th rank team (England) to secure the overrated accolades which you still suck up to like the pathetic moronic idiot you are… dumb delirious twatassed idiotic doos…
9 Oct 2011, 18:16 pm
just please get the right coach going forward…..and FFS no more promises made in trhe heat of the night to anyone……..please please farken please…..merit and form…merit and form…merit and form…….no favorites again….
9 Oct 2011, 18:16 pm
@ET.(ET.)-424: ET, you are a ******. It is because of you and the rest of the unwashed that South African rugby will be mediocre for the rest of days. PDV was a racist appointment because he was appointed because of his skin colour and not because his ability. If we had Heyneke Meyer we would have been world champions in 2011. You lot can’t get anything right without constant white supervision.
9 Oct 2011, 18:17 pm
ET, maybe you did not get that, I said you are a B A B O O N
9 Oct 2011, 18:19 pm
@Bill Reyts(Gumboots)-520:
i know bill, i know…it still hurts though and yes, the referee gods would probably have smiled on the all blacks next weekend if they hadn’t smiled on the wallabies today.
we are blessed with players, i just hope we get the right coach going forward. my desire for the next four years is to turn the winning percentage against the all blacks around as well as to win the next world cup.
go bokke!..
@Dawn(Dawn)-519:
@Dawn(Dawn)-522:
thanks dawn, for reminiding me of that. you are right, we’ll always be proud supporters no matter what.
i hope the team gets a good welcome on their homecoming.
9 Oct 2011, 18:23 pm
@PassTheBall(PassTheBall)-525:
how does behaving in a racist manner make you any better than him.
no sir, you are in fact the b a b o o n.
9 Oct 2011, 18:24 pm
@PassTheBall(PassTheBall)-525: you don’t sound any different to ET, actually.
9 Oct 2011, 18:32 pm
Still struggling to get over this.
In a way it’s cruel justice as for the past 4 years we played **** for 3 of them. Then in the WC we get our act together and dominate the Aussies but still lose.
Hopefully the next coach will not ever say ‘judge me at the WC’. We as fans want consistent excellence year after year. And we need to see the WC for what it is: A special competition with high drama, jubilation and heartbreak due to the knock-out nature thereof. But it should not be the be-all and end-all altar on which everything else is sacrificed.
Get an day where its just not your day compounded by a pathethic ref and that’s it. Ask the AB fans, today we got a taste of what they experienced. Even if they don’t win this WC at least they have a couple more 3N titles under the belts and came back unbeaten from the NH tours.
We should have done better with the players we had.
9 Oct 2011, 18:32 pm
PdV was out of his depth.. the job was too big for him in the end unfortunately.. even so the team gave a good account of themselves till the death and only just got beaten by a very spirited Australian team who were given a little too much leeway at the breakdown…
Sometimes life can seem cruel when so much effort goes unrewarded but every Bok that put their body and heart on the line played an immense game that simply was not going to go their way.. such are the so called vacillations of life … what we wish for so ardently is not always the way things gonna turn out to be .. ask AB’s they know all about it.. and ultimately Boks were prepared but not quite prepared enough .. and if they were to have won under the wrong circumstances it was not in the long term interest of all those taking part in the pantomime…
Also incorrect policy and selections hampered our overall strategy …we didn’t select purely on merit and prestige and other criteria came into play … some schmucks like White might be preening themselves with self back slap pride that this Bok team lost, but they wouldn’t have fared any better as their own results against such competition proved only too well during their tenure..
9 Oct 2011, 18:32 pm
The next SA coach must have the vision to develop our backs. We have world class forwards but our back line although good is not up to the mark when compared to the likes of the All Blacks and Wallabies who seem to be run better lines and possess superior vision and skills in this area. Our game is now so focused on and setup for the kicking and crash ball game that we found it hard to break through the Wallabies today even with 76% territorial advantage and 66% of the possession. With this dominance Bryce Lawrence’s poor refereeing should merely have been a discussion point after a Bok win and not the centre of attention following a loss. We simply didn’t take our chances. In the first half our backs had 2 or 3 changes out wide and the ball never got through the hands quick enough and with enough precision. At this level those mistakes are very costly as we now feel burgled by the Wallabies and the Ref. We lacked X factor…we won the contest but lost the prize.
PDV thanks for all your hard work, your loyalty and sacrifice. Jon Smit it’s been an honour watching you play and lead our Boys in the way you have. You have been a great servant and ambassador to South Africa. A true inspiration we salute you!
9 Oct 2011, 18:37 pm
@andregunter(andregunter)-532: I don’t think D*ck Muir added any value whatsoever as backs coach.
Why they took him after his terrible stint at the Lions, is anybody’s guess.
The man is useless. Just to confirm, has he handed in his resignation too? If not, he needs to be fired immediately.
9 Oct 2011, 18:48 pm
Its not the back line players that are at fault it is the strategy deployed by the brains trust which is traditional 10 man SA rugby
You can actually blame Smit and FdP to extent for forcing and fostering this game style for the past 4 years because this is what they learned to be successful under their previous stint as the so called generals of the team…
Boks have been playing a style they felt comfortable with which is not in sinc with the current laws of the game.. and also we have adopted a style where we load the back line with forwards such as Burger, Matfield and Roussow to carry it up and be extra link players.. All they effectively do is slow it all down and therefore zero back line penetration..
Blame Rassie for forwards in the back line this is his strategy.. Burger should never be first receiver.. then backs could at least hopefully get some quick ball and do some damage running at opposition..
Wings never saw the ball because it always dies with one or other forward.. mostly Burger, carrying it up in the back line.. a stupid dumb strategy..
9 Oct 2011, 18:48 pm
@ashampoopaloo(joel1yahoo)-531:
thanks skop,
that must be the nicest thing i’ve ever heard you say before, and the nicest way i’ve ever seen you write it.
we certainly do have the players and the spirit, i just hope (like you and everyone else i’m sure) that we get the right coach going forward. a man who will keep everything that is good about springbok rugby but equip them with the tools for playing our style of rugby in a 21st century environment.
we need to peg the all blacks win ration back and win the next world cup.
finger crossed…
9 Oct 2011, 18:49 pm
PDV can leave with his head held high.
9 Oct 2011, 18:50 pm
Old Eagle-Eye Lawrence has reffed the Sharks to 3 wins in 9 games between 2006 and 2011, with a couple of real howlers in there.
This in a period when the Sharks have won 63% of their games – that’s closer to 6 out of 9 – so Lawrence’s record at the helm is an abnormality.
So I’m really not surprised at all that Eagle-Eye Lawrence has sparked a bit of controversy with his reffing display today (or lack of it).
Still, the Bokke should have done more with all the possession and territory to negate the ref’s influence. It was the lack of penetration or creativity amongst the backs which did them in, not Lawrence.
9 Oct 2011, 18:51 pm
the way we played i am not ashamed to be a springbok supporter. All i want now is dominance year in and year out with the springboks.
9 Oct 2011, 18:52 pm
cant wait for the super14.
9 Oct 2011, 18:53 pm
Ryan Vrede writes k a k twice in one day. Heyneke Meyer did not say that he will not apply for the Bok post. I saw a tv interview recently where he said even though he signed a contract with the Bulls, he could break it if he got the Bok coaching job.
Two guy that have said in no uncertain terms that they will never want to to be the Bok coach in the future are Nick Mallett and Brendan Venter.
That leaves the top candidates as Heyneke Meyer, Rassie Erasmus, John Mitchell, **** Muir, Dawie Theron,John Plumtree and Alastair Coetzee. Would be good if Ewan McKenzie would apply too.
9 Oct 2011, 18:53 pm
gio is way better than habana.
9 Oct 2011, 18:53 pm
@Wezwp(Wezwp)-538: yes, and in a way, if it took a quarter final exit to drum that message in, then good.
9 Oct 2011, 18:54 pm
@Wezwp(Wezwp)-539: it’s Super 15 now and actually, I’m not really looking that forward to it for a change. Can’t stand the new format and local conferences (Currie Cup conference).
9 Oct 2011, 18:55 pm
@daydreamer(daydreamer)-540: seriously, has Mallet and Venter said they will not take the job?
9 Oct 2011, 18:57 pm
Chris gayle takes a sexy walk due to a bad LBW decision
9 Oct 2011, 18:59 pm
Bryce Lawrence will not get past customs at OR Tambo
9 Oct 2011, 19:00 pm
@Dawn(Dawn)-519:
@Dawn(Dawn)-522:
excellent posts dawnie…
that’s keeping it real….
thank you
9 Oct 2011, 19:00 pm
Thanx PDV!!!!!Goodbye you took a Champion team an did your utmost best to turn us into a bunch of Chumps with proper coaching we would’ve swept Australia off the park today……….Thanx for 2009!!!2008,2010,2011 NO COMMENT
9 Oct 2011, 19:01 pm
Bryce Lawrence will not step onto any SA stadium field unscathed.
9 Oct 2011, 19:03 pm
So my Saffa chums, your team are on their way home too.
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