Lame legacy for spineless De Villiers
12 Oct 2011
RYAN VREDE writes that Peter de Villiers styled himself as the puppet master for the Springboks but ended his reign as no more than a puppet.
De Villiers wanted his legacy to be about evolving the Springboks tactically and implementing meaningful transformation. He failed on both counts and will be remembered for his lack of backbone in resisting the agenda of his senior players, poor selections, technical ineptitude and embarrassing media offerings.
The Springboks crashed out of the World Cup at the quarter-final stage on Sunday, equalling their worst-ever performance at the global showpiece. Defeat to Australia was neither surprising nor disgraceful, but it is a fitting exit point a coach as ill-equipped as De Villiers was.
I overheard him speaking to a group of people in the Springboks’ team hotel last week. ‘I’ve been building towards this for four years,’ he said. ‘After this I don’t want to see a rugby ball.’
He shouldn’t have seen one at Test level in the first place. De Villiers was selected ahead of a far superior candidate, Heyneke Meyer. South African Rugby union president Oregan Hoskins said the decision was motivated by the need to have a black coach. Four years later Hoskins and his provincial presidents are still in power, while De Villiers will struggle to find a job with an elite franchise and will never coach a major Test nation again.
From the outset of his tenure he positioned himself as the antithesis to former coach, Jake White. He expressed strong views on a range of subjects relating to the Springboks, most notably stressing that they would play a more expansive brand of rugby and committing to improve what he said was a slow rate of transformation under White. The former ideal was shelved after one abysmal season, the senior players, most notably Victor Matfield and Fourie du Preez, engineered a shift to more pragmatic approach.
Meanwhile De Villiers window-dressed beautifully with regards to the introduction of black players, without implementing any meaningful change. The core of his preferred side was the one that won the World Cup for White. Beast Mtawarira is Zimbabwean born, Odwa Ndungane was Test impostor and Chiliboy Ralepelle still knows more about the composition of tackle bags than he does about the rigours of Test rugby.
De Villiers’ record – Played 48 Won 30 Lost 18 (62.5%) – is poor, especially since he has had the finest generation of players in some time at his disposal. Examine his record against Australia and New Zealand, the benchmark against which the Springboks should measure themselves, and his mediocrity is starkly illuminated. Four wins from 12 against the Wallabies and five from 11 against the All Blacks is utterly unacceptable.
De Villiers enjoyed great success in 2009, beating the British & Irish Lions and later capturing the Tri-Nations title. However, by that stage the puppets had realised the puppet master’s lack of aptitude in handling them. They cut the strings and reattached them to his appendages.
Those players then duly decided for themselves they had a World Cup left in them. A more astute coach would have recognised they reached the very peak of their powers – particularly in the case of John Smit, Bryan Habana, Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha. He claimed experience would be crucial at the World Cup. Experience, however, counts for very little when you lack the physical ability to execute the lessons experience has taught.
The Lions series also saw the nadir in De Villiers’ flirtations with insanity during press conferences. In the post-match gathering after the second Test he vehemently denied Schalk Burger has eye-gouged Luke Fitzgerald, despite video evidence showing he had. This incensed the travelling media contingent, who asked him about the incident once more on the following Monday, offering him a shot at redemption. De Villiers delivered a series of embarrassing rebuttals, none more so than: ‘If we wanted to eye gouge Lions, we would go to the bush, find some and do it there.’
Never must a political agenda, any agenda for that matter, take precedence over rugby credentials when selecting a Springbok coach. Those who drove De Villiers’ cause are the same men who desperately sought the assistance of Rassie Erasmus ahead of the World Cup to compensate for what their chosen one lacked in technical and tactical skill. They need to be accountable, Hoskins more than any.
However, De Villiers cannot be mitigated. He must be measured by the standards he has set. His repertoire of one-liners is impressive, his favourite being: ‘Even the bad days are good.’ On the contrary, the bad days have been very bad, none more so than in Wellington on Sunday.
By Ryan Vrede, in Auckland
Follow Ryan’s World Cup coverage on Twitter
483 Comments
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12 Oct 2011, 07:02 am
@funkyzoo(funkyzoo)-6:
What does Jurie Roux have to do with this. He’s only been in the job for just over a year, surely?
12 Oct 2011, 07:07 am
Why do I get the distinct feeling thee Keo chronies fed off the Pdivvie era and now have nothing to write about. They may be forced to give a compliment to SARU if they do something sensible. The horror! They may have to actually go out and get good stories.
12 Oct 2011, 07:36 am
Why does Victor Matfield get lumped in with Habana and Smit? He was as imperious as ever in the Australia game, and most certainly not over the hill like the fatboy and the glory boy
12 Oct 2011, 07:43 am
Vrede. Of the 4 players mentioned as ‘over-the-hill’ only 1 was a back.
We dominated in the forwards, so how were the other 3 also past their use by date?
Smit performed. Bismarck was better, but Smit was not poor. Bakkies was injured and never really had a chance to prove himself, but his replacement made a fool of himself in the quarter, and Victor was very very good.
12 Oct 2011, 07:44 am
Ultimately I will remember PdV as a coach who did what he thought was best for the Boks, even if it meant putting aside his preconceived ideas and vision, even if it meant swallowing his pride and copping criticism from all specters of our society.
It couldnt have been easy.
12 Oct 2011, 07:45 am
In fact, I think it would be a masterstroke to for the new coach to ask Vic to continue for one more season as captain of the new Boks, to assist the transition to ou post Divvy Bok team.
Bekker never lasts for more than half a season in any case, a consequence of his freakish height, I guess.
12 Oct 2011, 07:46 am
Ou = our.
12 Oct 2011, 07:50 am
What the Boks missed most this world cup was the old Fourie du Preez.
He was always at the heart of most of our attacking plays, and our entire attacking strategy was basically “wait for Du Preez to decide what to do”. He really was that good.
We would have beaten Aus comfortably with this same team if the old Du Preez had still been here.
12 Oct 2011, 07:53 am
@Taahirah(Taahirah)-55:
Agreed. I respect the guy. He did what he thought was best, and as you say was willing to swallow his pride. Glad he’s not continuing, but I’m not about to throw him under a bus, which is what I felt like doing with Straueli.
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-56:
I like it… but I seriously doubt Big Vic would go for it.
12 Oct 2011, 07:55 am
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-58: Yes FdP circa 2007. That is the point Tac, the team is on the oldish side. Fdp is slowing down, throwing loopy passes, etc. All signs of mind (perhaps) willing but the body out of sync.
12 Oct 2011, 07:56 am
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-53: showing your 5 year old side again??
surely sooner or later in life one should grow up?
12 Oct 2011, 07:56 am
@hendrikp(hendrikp)-59: Isn’t Vic ploughing his hard-earned and time into a rugby franchise?
12 Oct 2011, 07:56 am
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-53:
i dont think habana was fat at all at this wc and john deserved another shot at glory after winning his 1st wc.
12 Oct 2011, 07:59 am
Extract from Die Burger this morning:
Breiers staan al tou om Div se plek te vul
10/11/2011 8:52:43 AM
Rudolph Lake
Johannesburg
Rassie Erasmus, Allister Coetzee en Gert Smal is die drie voorste kandidate om die nuwe Springbok-breier in Peter de Villiers se plek te word.
En volgens betroubare bronne gaan Paul Treu, die huidige Springbok-sewesafrigter, beslis een van die nuwe Bok-hoofafrigter se adjudante wees.
Smal, voorspeler-afrigter van die Ierse span, en Coetzee, hoofafrigter van die Stormers en WP, was Jake White se twee Bok-hulpafrigters toe die Bokke in 2007 die Wêreldbeker gewen het.
12 Oct 2011, 08:00 am
Interesting article Ryan.
Second to last paragraph, you refer to those who drove Div cause blah blah, are you referring to your Boss Keo?
I think you have one thing absolutely correct though, rugby should be the reason the coach is picked, not lobbying on the back of colour, or ex rugby journalists who make their money on the back end of sensationalism?
12 Oct 2011, 08:00 am
Ryan, aka Keo’s-affirmative-action-posterboy, a couple of questions:
You say: “De Villiers wanted his legacy to be about evolving the Springboks tactically and implementing meaningful transformation. He failed on both counts”
How did he fail with regards to implementing meaningful transformation? What constitutes ‘meaningful transformation’ in your book? Being the token black blogger for Keohane?
You say: “Meanwhile De Villiers window-dressed beautifully with regards to the introduction of black players, without implementing any meaningful change. The core of his preferred side was the one that won the World Cup for White. Beast Mtawarira is Zimbabwean born, Odwa Ndungane was Test impostor and Chiliboy Ralepelle still knows more about the composition of tackle bags than he does about the rigours of Test rugby.”
Window-dressed? How? Are you saying that these gentlemen did not warrant Bok selection? Window-dressing would have been starting Chilli when Bismark was clearly the better choice.
You say: “De Villiers’ record – Played 48 Won 30 Lost 18 (62.5%) – is poor, especially since he has had the finest generation of players in some time at his disposal. Examine his record against Australia and New Zealand, the benchmark against which the Springboks should measure themselves, and his mediocrity is starkly illuminated. Four wins from 12 against the Wallabies and five from 11 against the All Blacks is utterly unacceptable.”
We always have the finest generation of players at our disposal. Nick Mallet for example had Joost van der Westhuizen, Andre Snyman, Henry Honiball, Pieter Rossouw, Krynauw Otto to name but a few.
Five wins from 11 against the All Blacks is utterly unacceptable???? Really???? By whose standards???? Any coach in world rugby would kill for that record against the ABs!
You said:
“In the post-match gathering after the second Test he vehemently denied Schalk Burger has eye-gouged Luke Fitzgerald, despite video evidence showing he had.”
I guess Schalk was found guilty of gouging then? Oh no wait… Did the disciplinary committee not see the video evidence? Pity.
12 Oct 2011, 08:00 am
@kwas(kwas)-5:
if this was about a test in transformation then the test was rigged from the get go.
12 Oct 2011, 08:01 am
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-58:
I agree with your comments about both Victor and Fouries.
12 Oct 2011, 08:03 am
So one Mark Keohane should also be held accountable as PDV was his recommendation.
12 Oct 2011, 08:06 am
@Taahirah(Taahirah)-66: Are you telling me youre happy when the boks only win against NZ & AUZ every now and then?
12 Oct 2011, 08:08 am
Good morning all.
I have also posted some critical comments regarding a players form, or the coaches ability as a coach…
but “attacking” a person by calling him names and classifying his personality as “spineless” – hmmm
Maybe we should stop the name-calling – specially if there is no banter involved…
Maybe Keo should should have been more circumspect when he “approved” of PdV as the coach…
(hel ek sukkel mettie engels)
Ryan – he might be a bad coach but honestly calling him spineless is like anyone calling you an “arrogant little snotkop with an overinflated view of himself”…. even though there might be reason to say it – ( i don’t know) – it is better not to say it.
“Name-calling” imo is in bad taste.
Eish die engels ennie keybord werkie goed vandag nie…….
Anyway – i’m out. Breakfast with friends.
I have never rated him as a coach – but speaking to a few of the boks (as i am sure you had the opportunity to do) – you will find that Snorre is not a bad person and trying to stick the knife in is just not on… imo….
We all make mistakes – me and you included.
12 Oct 2011, 08:13 am
@Taahirah(Taahirah)-66: The boks should never have such a bad record against the kiwis and auzies. Ill accept a 50% winning rate against NZ any day, but not against Auz-atleast 60%, but less than that is unacceptable. And if you dont feel thats fair, then you dont believe that our players and coaches have the ability to dominate and be a good and competitive team. Or for that matter be the best in the world. That should be the aim shouldnt it?
12 Oct 2011, 08:14 am
@Jeez(Jeez)-70: Am I happy?
Ofcourse not!
And PdV’s record against the Wallabies is appalling, thats not in dispute.
But a bit of perspective is needed.
5 from 11 against the Abs is a 45.45 winning percentage. Name me any other coach in the professional area who has done better. Not only SA. Worldwide.
12 Oct 2011, 08:14 am
@Jeez(Jeez)-72: Agreed.
12 Oct 2011, 08:15 am
“I overheard him speaking to a group of people in the Springboks’ team hotel last week.”
At last… the standard of journalism on keo is revealed…
Let’s just sneak around the the hotel lobbies and eavesdrop on their conversations… pick up a few stompies… and through the ebola-rat amongst the cheese and let it do it’s work…
No point in going to source and getting an official quote from the guy…
There’s a lot to said for the proposed media bill… if this is how professional journalists in South Africa gather their information…
12 Oct 2011, 08:15 am
@Jeez(Jeez)-72: Geez Jeez, you really need to come down off your high horse.
Unacceptable percentiles <<< you have got to be kidding.
Humility would be a good starter.
12 Oct 2011, 08:18 am
@once more just take a break on the beach, dear springboks, once more…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-63:
Nobody deserves anything to claim the Bok jersey, it should always be based on form and being the best, the last 2 years JS form has been in rapid decline and based on this he should not have been included in this squad. If he had been producing standout performances nobody would of had a problem, but his performances pre WC was sub standard.
Nobody deserves to be there on sentimental reasons, this is what you are advocating, and you are way off the mark, I hope the new management never allows this, ever again!!
12 Oct 2011, 08:20 am
@hendrikp(hendrikp)-54: we had 2 players capable of bursting over the advantage line in our squad…..s players on the crest of there waves, height of there powers…..
and both sat on the bench….
Willem Alberts and Bissy.
I dont even want to discuss this as I saw this kak coming….it was farken inevitable…all you silly wallys thinking we can arrogantly leave the best on the bench till the kak was so bad….you russian Roulette players….
Plod can only take you to the advantage line
Spies the same..Alberts and bissy smash you over the advantage line…
and we hung them out to dry because of the fat boys club.
The WC is won with exceptional players ….not just allright players….
You arrogant stupid wallys thought a superbench was going to save us….I tsaid we were playing Russian Roulette….
Who got the bullet in the brain?
Stupiid fool that you are!
12 Oct 2011, 08:23 am
@RugbyRulz(RugbyRulz)-76: High horse? What are you on about? Wanting your national team to win is any supporters right. I believe in a team that can be the best in the world. Thats that.
12 Oct 2011, 08:23 am
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-56: no please Tacitus…
Maak skoonskip….
12 Oct 2011, 08:23 am
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-58: agree …
12 Oct 2011, 08:25 am
@ufo(ufo)-75:
thats because they’d sooner scrape months old roadkill off a tarmac somewhere in aoteoroa and conduct an interview with it before speaking to keo & co.
as skop says; ‘you reap what you sow’…
12 Oct 2011, 08:27 am
A LETTER FROM AN AUSTRALIAN FAN AFTER THEIR QUARTER FINAL VICTORY.
“I wonder what our boys (AUSTRALIANS) would have said faced with the same situation of blatant (Gross)incompetence (‘MALICIOUS DISHONESTY’) by Mr Bryce Lawrence.”
LIMITING THE POWER OF THE WHISTLE
There are no doubt a lot of Australian rugby supporters celebrating our victory over the Springboks yesterday. There are also a number of us that are wondering how on earth we managed to pull it off against a side that dominated possession and territory and lineouts. Now, I don’t want to take anything away from the Australian victory – our boys did perform superbly but on the day the Springboks were, we have to admit, the better side. The boks, as always were magnanimous in defeat with a somewhat pragmatic approach to the result. I wonder what our boys would have said faced with the same situation of blatant incompetence by Mr Bryce Lawrence.
I support Australia and always will but for those of us that believe in fair play this was a hollow victory. This was very much like fighting a worthy opponent with one arm strapped behind his back – it leaves a bad taste. There were rumours about Mr Lawrence’s impartiality before kick-off from a lot of ex pat South Africans now living in Australia but we tend to dismiss these conspiracy theories with a grin. Certainly, Mr Lawrence’s performance on the field did nothing to dispel those theories. His performance was nothing short of abysmal. He did not award the bok try because of a dubious forward pass. I have looked and looked and to me, anyway, it did not look forward. Minutes later when the boks once again breached our defences and were well on the way to scoring another try, he called them back for a forward pass. If the first call was contentious, there certainly was nothing wrong with the second one. Here, I must ask – why not use the “eye in the sky”? An impressive expensive piece of equipment that should be used for such decisions.
He failed to penalise Pocock for slowing the ball down. If we had played like that against the All Blacks, they would not have been so quiet about it. – and rightly so. In the dying minutes of the game he was in full view of at least 2 high tackles by our boys that went unpunished. Any of these transgressions, if properly acted on, would have surely given the game to the Boks with their advantage over territory. To rub salt in the South African wounds, he awarded a high tackle to the Wallabies for a chest high tackle.
We won, but did we really? Our sport has always been regarded as a “hooligans game played by gentlemen” – If we do not want rugby union to degenerate into a farce that soccer can become we need to make sure that our refs are of suitable calibre. They need to be trustworthy gentlemen.
Mr Lawrence, I would advise against any planned holidays to South Africa for a couple of years.
Chris Davis
The Australian
12 Oct 2011, 08:28 am
@grant10(grant10)-78: One must ask who was coaching? What was the plan (sub replacement timing) and what was the plan (how to win the game). I know there wasnt a plan B so who, apart from the senior players on the field had a clue? Surely PdV isnt the only responsible party, Gold and Ginger played their part.
The scapegoat is PdV………. pi$$poor way to treat any man.
What will come of this is custard.
12 Oct 2011, 08:29 am
@Staal(Staal)-71: Goed gese daar ‘Man van Staal”
Dit geld ook vir die adders wat Smit altyd so sleg se hier , selfde met Pdiv ensovoorts
Die soort mense het geen murg in hulle bene nie , skametelose adders wat hulle is
12 Oct 2011, 08:30 am
@justrugby(justrugby)-77:
i was kidding…
i called habana fat and john glory when he meant it the other way around.
i too like my coffee strong in the morning…
12 Oct 2011, 08:30 am
@ufo(ufo)-75:
You just have to sit in any press conference, if they did not wear tags, you would not know they were there.
12 Oct 2011, 08:32 am
@Jeez(Jeez)-79: Nothing wrong with getting behind your team as is your right. Hoping and willing them on is within your control but expecting percentiles (percentage results) is not a right. That sir/madam is the cream.
12 Oct 2011, 08:33 am
I have never really posted much regarding PDEV stating I will always judge him on results, take away the side shows and his success rate has not been bad compared to some of his predecessors.
BIL series win, 3N win, and away wins against AB’s absolute highlights. All In all he will probably get a C on the report card which is a competent rating .
The Boks now need a coach that is capable of an A rating , we need at a 85% success rate, we have the players to achieve and beat the AB’s and Aussies on a regular basis , who that coach is I am not sure, will he be better that PDEV, only time will tell.
As far as PDEV is concerned thanks for the successes and the entertaining and at times bizarre side shows, good luck with whatever you do going forward, but as it was with your predecessors an overall C rating is just not good enough for a brand like the Springboks !!
12 Oct 2011, 08:33 am
this pack mentality of all attacking a person when he’s down is very revealing too…
all this baying for blood and demanding action to crucify the guy is going to accomplish just what…??
if he has been weak… or dishonest… or failed to achieve the results we hoped for then why single out PDivvy… Why are we not castigating the entire senior group of springboks too who, if there is any truth to all this, basically mutinied and held a gun to Pdivvy’s head…
Can we imagine what would have been said about him if PDivvy had just walked away back then…?
I would like to ask all of those attacking him now… Tell us what you would have done, having just been appointed… having a plan and now the guys say they want to do it their way…? Do you throw your toys and walk or recognise the situation and try and work with the guys over time to change their minds and their style of play…? It’s easy to talk now after the fact and out of the loop… and with all the ‘slomo replays’… but what would you have done there and then in real time…? you’ve only got a few minutes to make up your mind… what would you have done?
Also remember when he was appointed many people on this blog predicted he would pick an all black team and it would kill bok rugby… then he spoke to smit and matfield and others and basically got most of the old guard to stay on…
and (the proverbial) ‘everyone’ on keo… celebrated the fact…
now (the proverbial) ‘everyone’ is saying he did the wrong thing…?
not a little whiff of hypocrisy wafting through cyberspace this morning…
12 Oct 2011, 08:33 am
@grant10(grant10)-78:
thanks grant….
many of us have been waiting like crazy to finally get the ‘i told you so’ ****** off our backs.
i feel a lot better now…hope its over…
12 Oct 2011, 08:38 am
****** = m o n k e y
12 Oct 2011, 08:39 am
From Gavin Rich on supersport
Australia bent every law in the game of rugby to virtually breaking point, and for 99% of the time they got away with it. It is not something we can respect them for, but it was enough to win a game they shouldn’t have.
My brother had a beer with Gavin Rich after the game on Sunday and he says Gavin was really cut up he even cried. Shame poor guy.
12 Oct 2011, 08:39 am
@once more just take a break on the beach, dear springboks, once more…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-82:
true man…
@PissAnt(PissAnt)-87:
it’s always showed in the quality of the stories…
12 Oct 2011, 08:46 am
@grant10(grant10)-78: I dont think because Bismarck and Alberts where on the bench is why we lost. We where in that game….we were dominating the game without them. They just added to the domination when they came on. We lost by 2 not 20 Grant. Who knows for sure if Bismarck and Alberts started we would of won?
12 Oct 2011, 08:49 am
@Staal(Staal)-71: hey ou Staal, fine words my friend. Jou engels is goed genoeg ou maat. Beter as my Afrik.
Ja, we are very quick to criticise and everyone has a right to do so. BUT some expose their suspect personalities in the venom they spew, whether its accurate or otherwise. Sadly it is mostly the latter I suspect.
Sitting on the lawn outside North Harbour stadium on sunday, it was both an awesome experience, if gut-wrenching. Post game I couldn’t help feeling proud of the Springboks and how they bowed out of the tournament with heads held high. They were robbed. there’s not much doubt in most minds about that. And I don’t mean ex/current South African minds, which could be excused for a spot of bias. But from the knowledgable Kiwis I was exposed to (customs official to provincial rugby player) they all offered their sympathy and apologies for their countryman’s officiating of our game. That is a fact even if I kept no record of it. Something else interesting was the common expression of a certain amount of relief that the AB’s had the Aussies to beat and not the Springboks. The Kiwi public are extremely nervous about ‘not winning’ this WC. Trust me they are. I believe they will. Now that the Boks are out of it; GO THE AB’s.
12 Oct 2011, 08:50 am
Pocock, 23, said his job was to get to the rucks first and hustle for turnovers.
“You’ve got to try to get in as quick as you can and as an arriving player, if the ruck’s not formed, you’ve got all the rights and you continue to have those rights as long as you don’t put your hands on the ball,” he said.
Thats the thing Pocock even when the ruck was formed you still had your hands on the ball. Cheating snake.
12 Oct 2011, 08:53 am
@Staal(Staal)-71:
top post staal… voice of calm reason…
@TASSIES(TASSIES)-96:
ditto
12 Oct 2011, 08:53 am
@once more just take a break on the beach, dear springboks, once more…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-91: ja
it is over
just like our wc hopes
12 Oct 2011, 08:54 am
@TASSIES(TASSIES)-96: It is going to be a close game come Sunday. I think the Aussie might edge it. Will Cruden be able to bring his backline into the game?? I doubt it.
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