Peter Neill, News24 User
It is no secret that I am a big Jake White fan and the fact is that coaches of this calibre are a rare breed.
Peter De Villiers hasn't been around long enough for me to be able to dissect his long term strategy and understand his mindset, but there is little doubt that he has made a fairy-tale beginning to his tenure as Bok coach against Wales, even more so than White in his first week.
Over the years there were three selections that White persisted with, that left me baffled. The first was Jaco Van Der Westhuizen. I couldn't understand what it was that made White continuously stick with Van Der Westhuizen, with so many other options at his disposal.
Of course Van Der Westhuizen fell away before the RWC, but there were two other mystery selections for me. Wynand Olivier was a favorite choice of White, until the bitter end. Although Olivier was good on defence, for me, he was also static and one dimensional in attack and was not and never will be a world class centre.
Also I could never understand why Chavhanga was not given more opportunities at wing. His debut for the Boks resulted in six tries, but after that he never featured again, except when he was thrown to the wolves with the second stringers who traveled down under, for that famous away leg of the tri nations.
Of course it is common knowledge that Chavhanga was extremely injury prone, and maybe that was why White didn't take him to the RWC, but even so, the fact is that Jean De Villiers was also injured and that didn't stop Jake from selecting him.
Of course we all know that every coach has his favourites and in White's case he was also single-minded in restoring pride and value to selection, by making it almost impossible to be selected once his squad was in place. In the end, as much as there is no doubt that White achieved his goal, could it be that his dedication to this cause with his selection policies became both his blessing and his curse?
A new era
Either way, for me, Peter De Villiers has heralded a new and exciting era and has breathed a breath of fresh air with some of his selections. Chavhanga is on the wing and I have no doubt that he will vindicate De Villiers' faith in him and prove his worth. There is no substitute for speed and this man has the potential to become a superstar for South Africa like Bryan Habana.
Also, De Villiers' choice against Wales of Conrad Jantjes at fullback and Adi Jacobs at centre, has given both of these up and coming stars a taste of the big time and they didn't disappoint.
All in all it seems that De Villiers is using the foundation that White constructed over four years to build his new team and this for me is brilliant. Luke Watson also deserved his place in the team after his Super14 form and it was his brilliant passes that sparked at least two of the four tries on Saturday. It is pleasing to note that this controversy is behind us in South African rugby and De Villiers has certainly helped us to move on.
His selection of the core players from the RWC to form the basis of his selection is smart. His inclusion of oversees players in the team was a sensible and brave move and his faith in John Smit as a captain is already paying dividends.
The Boks, although rusty against Wales, were calm and are to be commended, given their brief preparation time.
Of course, the real test will be during the Tri-Nations. If there is one criticism from my side, it is that De Villiers needs to talk less for now and allow his results to do the talking.
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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.