Peter Neill, News24 User
Well done Peter de Villiers! And well done to every Bok player on Saturday!
It irritates me to read all the negative journalism about the Boks and De Villiers. Every rugby journalist and rugby fan should be congratulating De Villiers and the team on a brilliant performance and a fantastic turnaround. Many of the articles that I have read are condescending, to say the least - full of subtle (and not so subtle) messages of advice for the poor "black" coach!
The reality is that some will embrace change, but for most, it is extremely difficult to absorb. This applies both to journalists, administrators, players and fans. I, for one, want every South African to get behind the team.
This week the players performed with purpose because (I believe) their backs were against the wall and the sword was over their heads. Saru had also made it clear that De Villiers was staying put, so for the players it was a matter of do or die - either play well or face the chop. The whole of South Africa demanded a win from them. De Villiers and his team should be commended for having come through an extremely difficult transitional phase with flying colours. Collectively they will continue to win or fail and both coach and players are responsible in the end.
I read the derogatory comments in this forum and my feeling is that people are still angry that Jake White is no longer the coach and nothing poor De Villiers does will ever be good enough. On the other side of the stick there are those who still refuse to recognise what White achieved with the Boks. For me both sides are wrong and both need to reconsider their attitudes to life.
Give Div a chance
I wrote an article last week where I stated: "Unfortunately for De Villiers the odds were stacked against him from the beginning and to be able to maintain the heights that JW achieved by winning the RWC was never going to be easy - even for Jake White!" By saying this I was in no way undermining De Villiers in favour of Jake. Jake had earned the right to be regarded as successful by winning the RWC. Truth be told, we'll probably never know whether Jake could have improved on his record, or how his team would have performed in this Tri Nations.
But now we need to give De Villiers a chance. We all need to move on from the White era - excuse the pun. No individual is bigger than any sport and rugby is for every South African. De Villiers is now the coach and we need to give him a chance and give honor where honour is due. If he fails in the long term - so be it.
But for now he has proved to me that he is adapting fast. He is both passionate and pleasantly eccentric and I like his moustache and the way the journalists desperately try to decipher what exactly he is trying to tell them - or not tell them. He has been misquoted and for many is still misunderstood, but there is no denying that he is a colourful personality whose life is rugby and who loves South Africa.
When we beat New Zealand in Dunedin it was because Richie Mc Caw was not playing. Well, neither was John Smit. Now when we thrash Australia it is because the Aussies were not motivated - absolute rubbish! I can assure you that I have never met a sportsman who wants to lose.
Listen carefully
Under White I was never a Jaco Van der Westhuizen fan. Under de Villiers I have stated that I am not a Conrad Jantjes fan. I have written that I feel he is too small and doesn't have a big enough boot. Well on Saturday Jantjes played like a star and proved me wrong and if he continues to play like this I will always support him. There was a time when I disliked Percy, but he won me over. This principle for me extends to the whole of the team and the coaching staff. The secret is to keep an open mind.
Also, it should not be forgotten that (for me) our biggest threat to failure in this Tri Nations has still not changed from every other year - the Aussie and New Zealand referees. The first match was a disgrace and I can honestly say that Saturday was the first time that I felt that the ref was fairly neutral. But then why not - after all South Africa were already out of the Tri Nations, so there was no reason for Paddy O'Brien's Australasian understudies to effect any definite influence over the game?
In conclusion, I have listened to De Villiers carefully. I have never heard him say that he doesn't want structure - in fact quite the opposite. Just the other day I heard him say that he didn't want to change the structure of the RWC team - he simply wanted them to add another dimension to their game by also being able to express themselves freely and play the situation. Now what is wrong with that? Particularly if it leads to the quality of tries we saw on Saturday.
Well done De Villiers and to all the Boks - you have my vote!
Get published on News24 by sending your article, story or column to us
See who has had a say on News24.
Disclaimer: News24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of users published on News24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of News24. News24 editors reserve the right to edit or delete any and all comments received.
- News24
Disclaimer: All articles and letters published on MyNews24 have been independently written by members of News24's community. The views of users published on News24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of News24. News24 editors also reserve the right to edit or delete any and all comments received.