Peter De Villiers backs Heyneke Meyer to succeed – Rugby News Update
Peter De Villiers, the 55-year-old former coach of South Africa, has given his backing to the current Springboks' coach, Heyneke Meyer, as his team takes on England, on Saturday, June 9, 2012.
England is touring South Africa for a three-match test series along with playing two other mid-week games, and Meyer’s is set to take charge of the Springboks for the first time since his appointment after the turn of the year.
His predecessor, De Villiers, whose reign ended up with South Africa bowing out of the 2011 Rugby World Cup at the quarter-final stage, has told the current incumbent to stay true to himself. He further added that as a coach he needs to believe in himself,
and go with his instincts, as the decisions he makes will have a bearing on how people perceive him.
De Villiers had a controversial time coaching the Springboks. His tenure was wrought with controversies, with the SARU President Oregon Hoskins saying that the decision of appointing him was not based on rugby purely.
"The one thing that I saw from the first day was that when they appointed the new coach [Meyer] was that they didn't say anything nice about him or anything bad," De Villiers said.
"I can't answer that question but I can tell you that it will run more smoothly for the next one and people will learn from their mistakes if they know that they made a mistake in the way they handled me. If I can make things easier for everyone in this
country who follows me then I have achieved more than I was there for."
Meyer was appointed for the top job in 2007 but was overlooked in favour of De Villiers. This made Meyer switch to the Leicester Tigers in the Aviva Premiership, and in the build up to the game, he has spoken about his time spent with the club. He started
his coaching tenure at the age of 30, and guided the SWD Eagles to the semi-finals of the Vodacom Cup.
His credentials as a coach are brilliant and he finally gets his chance to prove his worth to the South African Rugby Union.
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