MAILBOX: De Villiers still in focus
Fri, 29 Aug 2008 18:43
Emotions are still riding high ahead of the Boks' final Tri-Nations match of the season, and many opinions still abound over coach Peter de Villiers. You have the Write of Reply!
Opinions on Bok coach Peter de Villiers...
Who would I have chosen? For a starter a new coach who knows how to coach and believes in winning, not one who thinks: "Winning and loosing are the same thing to me, ...." If he doesn't know the difference, he's got a serious psychological problem! Can anyone believe that a Bok coach would talk such utter rubbish? Right there, once again, Peter de Villiers condemned himself as the wrong man for the job! Then the results speak for themselves. Once exceptional players like Victor Matfield and Fourie du Preez have faded. Why? Overall, what other players could be
selected? There must be questions over Brian Mujati being strong and experienced enough. Other than for political reasons I'm not sure why Wikus van Heerden is not replacing Luke Watson - maybe also Juan Smith, and why Heinke van der Merwe or Jannie du Plessis are not starting in the front row. As to senior players not playing well, whose fault is that other than the coach and their lack of confidence in him? He's the primary problem. The undercurrent must be terrible! Players who returned from France and England must be wondering why they bothered.
- Rob Porter
De Villiers is as far as i am concerned, coaching the Protea rugby team. My Springboks had pride. Do i support de villiers Protea Rugby team? No.
- Johan
I probably would have selected Morne Steyn for flyhalf, as we now need to find a flyhalf for the EOYT. I would also have brought in Johan Muller to replace Bekker,
don't know why Muller has not been involved since the beginning. I also would have brought in Wikus or maybe Baywatch to partner Burger and Juan. But whatever changes one makes now makes no difference to PDVs' ludicrous game plan. I hope we loose even bigger this weekend in a vain hope to increase the pressure on SARU to get rid of PDV and possibly bring in someone like Rassie or perhaps even Eddie Jones. But with the current fiasco SARU has made, I don't know who would want to take the Bok job now anyhow. Maybe in some bizarre twist of fate SARU could swallow their pride and beg White to comeback as Bok coach and sort out this unbelievable mess. It has gotten worse than the Strauli mess in a shorter space of time. I fear SARU will keep PDV and the Bok results will continue to plummet until a lot of the current players have given up and gone overseas to play.
- Lee Williams
[PdV] keeps saying how close the Boks were to a win! A miss is as good as a mile
Peter Puppet. Did he even watch any of the games where we were single-handedly thrashed? WAKE UP PdV!! We had a winning system - you have managed to totally botch it up. PdV has proved that he has NO CLUE & also has no experience at this level. We will not win another test against any of the top 6 teams this year under our "affirmative action coach". We need the right guy for the job - someone who will give our Springboks direction & leadership!! A coach who will identify the right position for his talent. Such as Frans Steyn - everyone keeps mentioning his poor form. That is because the best position he featured at was fullback! A good coach will recognise that & develop the talent according to the best position, not the position he dreams of!!! If Ricky January wishes he was a lock - is PdV going to try him out next to Victor? That is how stupid PdV's descisions are regarding our once world champions! There is only 1 solution - Bring back Jake White & Gert Smal!!!
Ditch DeVilliers!! Stop being racist & pick the right guy for the job! Soon to stop supporting the Boks,
- Jason, London
Opinions on a SANZAR conspiracy...
Absolutely not! What rubbish! What Elsom did occurs at once every game, and is hardly that dangerous. CJ van der Linde on the other hand was lucky go get 4 weeks - Epi Taione from the Sharks got a red card and much longer (8 weeks I think) and his headbutt was into the guy's chest, not his face! It was a stupid act of bone-headism and he got off lightly!
- Mike
I say HELL YES! This decision just once again shows how biased and unfair the Aussies and New Zealanders are when it comes to fair decisions in these type of cases. CJ gets suspended for 4 weeks but Elsom gets the go-ahead? Then the best part of it all is that CJ can't appeal his sentence because there is a delay with his paperwork, now isn't that convenient? Then they want to tell the public that Elsom's transgression would not have warranted a red card for foul play? What a load of SANZAR hogwash! If Matfield pulled Elsom down like that he would have most certainly received a redcard for it. The fact that Pieter De Villiers and the rest of the South-African board of rugby has not made any objection to this also stuns me. But then again they let Jake White go and then gives the head coach job to the less qualified candidate. (We all know Heyneke Meyer would have been the better option) Don't get me wrong I think he can still turn this around and have been sticking up for him when people bad-mouth his coaching. (And don't tell me I'm contradicting myself with this statement. De Villiers can coach this team, it's just a question of how bad does he want to succeed?) But I really think it's time he starts making some noise about these type of rulings. Speaking to O'Brien about the inconsistency in decisions from refs was a step in the right direction, but he needs to take it further now.
The Aussies and NZ make me sick when they make rulings that are blatantly unfair. I really hope we can get past these things as it is making Rugby a circus and SANZAR's board of directors are the clowns driving around in the little car. And to SARU I can only say; Give Jake White the posistion he is willing to take up, after all the crap you put that man through and him still managing to lead the Boks to World Cup Victory, you should be licking his shoes and groveling like a bunch of mongrel dogs. Which you all are in my opinion. If not you can go and get stuffed as you'll lose your fan base slowly but surely. And guess what, at the end of the day the people paying R500-00 a test ticket is what keeps you floating.
- Bruce Harrington
ELV's is the Aussies and All Blacks way of surviving in rugby - I hate to see midgets play the game of the big hard men and surviving , it is rubbish. Ping Pong rubbish . Rather change the rules and limit
the amount of players allowed in the back line at any given time . Let backs be backs and forwards be forwards.The old rules applied with current forward rule changes applied will ensure real RUGBY. Jake White was and will always be the best choice . He should be the Coach in anyway and not Peter De Villiers. Why are SARU so hard headed and unwise?
- JJN
Other opinions...
I tend to agree with Basil. What PDV is trying to do is the same as when quota players were introduced at the very top level instead of grooming them for grass root level upwards. Simply put, Mr de Villiers is trying to institute a pattern of play that is completely foreign to our current crop of players, and hence the reason it is not working. If he insisted that his pattern of play be instituted from school level, through club and university level, into the Vodacom and Currie cup, through to the Super 14, then by the time these players reach Springbok
level then the way PVD is trying to make the boks play will be second nature to them. At it stands right now, he is simply going to force players into bad form; as has already happened with Butch James, Fourie du Preez, Victor Matfield etc. Look at what happened to a whole host of quota players that were forced into the bok team: Owen Nkumane, Solly Tchibilika, Hilton Lobberts...where are they now? They weren't given the time to develop into Springboks and forced into the side and they have faded into obscurity. The same will happen with our current team. A pattern is being forced onto them, and many will fade away. I really believe PVD is a great coach, however he seems to lack forethought, and this is what has led to our current situation.
- Wayne, Cape Town
Jantjies, Nkowe, Jacobs, De Villiers, Montgomery, James, January, Watson, Spies, Burger, Matfield, Bekker, Mujatie, Du plessis, Materiwa. This team will be able
to play the expansive game. The tight five should play closer together. Januarie is quicker as is Luke Watson. Percy to give experience to back three. They must just add a bit of patience on attack.
- Les Barbery
I will always support the Boks, but I think that de Villiers needs John Smit back or another inspirational captain. Victor's attitude during the last two games has been shocking - not that expected of the RWC champions' captain.
- Frans Visser, Scotland
Threatening to support some other nation in the face of the recent decline of Springbok fortunes is a bit like threatening to divorce the wife because she hasn't wanted sex with you in recent weeks. One has to get to the ‘root' of the problem first. Do these ‘irate' Bok supporters who suddenly want to jump ship to the Wallaby or Puma or whatever other camp honestly think it's going to make them feel any better about life? Besides, the Aussies will laugh and ridicule these ‘fairweather' supporters, so ignorant are the latter of the fluctuations and life cycles of international rugby union.
In my view, the Boks are not far off the mark. I agree with PDV, although I doubt his credibility as a coach who has what it takes to retain the RWC in 2011. Resolve the issue at the breakdown and the Boks may turn the corner again. How many try-scoring opportunities destroyed by turnovers near the ‘oppo' tryline? How many of the Bok pack linger in the backline? How much attention is being afforded to negating the likes of McCaw and Smith at the breakdown? Loss of tryscoring opportunities leads to a loss of confidence, loss of morale, maybe even the loss of the coach's job. But it won't cost them my support. They have it through thick and thin...rough with the smooth...for better or worse. The wife will come around soon, and so will the Boks.
- Carl, England
