PdV’s free ride is over
1 Sep 2010
JON CARDINELLI says the only surprise regarding Peter de Villiers’ impending dismissal is that it’s taken this long for Saru to realise he’s a complete liability.
There’s been plenty happening behind the scenes since Monday’s press conference in Bloemfontein. De Villiers wasn’t asked about the Bees Roux murder case, but felt obliged to bring it up while waxing lyrical about the hope the Boks bring to people in dire situations. He said that the Boks are behind Roux 100%, a statement that’s caused an uproar in certain communities and enraged his employers at Saru.
This careless comment could be the final straw. Come Sunday, De Villiers should be gone.
De Villiers will face a disciplinary committee this week and an announcement regarding the incident will be made on Sunday. The deluge of embarrassing comments he’s made during his three-year tenure will be used against him as grounds for an early dismissal.
No one should be surprised, because if it were any other coach, they would have been fired long ago. There’s no denying De Villiers has brought the game into disrepute. The Bees Roux statement was a misplaced show of patriotism, an absurd gesture. He’s never been a fit spokesman for the Boks and his latest offering only underlines the fact.
De Villiers in a press conference is like a loaded gun. The slightest provocation sets him off. On Monday, that gun exploded without prompting. Saru should bullet him on Sunday, but they cannot say that they didn’t see another verbal calamity coming. Keeping him as Bok coach will continue to risk the reputation of Saru, the Boks and South Africa itself.
Nick Mallett and Jake White were two of South Africa’s more successful coaches, but their strong-willed personalities saw them clashing with the top brass at Saru. Mallett was fired after complaining about ticket prices, something most South Africans complain about on a weekly basis. White won the World Cup, but it wasn’t enough. Saru wanted him out after 2007, and his resignation pre-empted their move to displace him.
What if Mallett or White had botched a press conference so spectacularly that they ended up condoning eye-gouging? Would they have made it to the next Test, let alone the next season?
De Villiers showed his support for Schalk Burger after the second Test against the Lions in 2009, but his misfiring mouth spoke about gouging lions on the highveld in the same breath, an arrogant and defiant statement that almost dared the authorities to censor him.
In 2008, he responded to criticism by saying he’d had enough, and that they ‘should give rugby back to the whites’. On Monday in Bloemfontein, he made another outrageous claim that smacked of mindless bravado, ‘You’re either for us or you’re against us’. He spoke about the laager being closed and how the team is unified and immune to any criticism. And here I’d thought we were done with the laager mentality. Apparently not.
Earlier this year, his comment on live television intimated referees favoured the All Blacks because of the 2011 World Cup, and referees knew it was in New Zealand’s interest that the home team remained successful.
Former Wallabies hooker Brendan Cannon called him a clown, a view shared by many opposition coaches and players abroad, and a few in this country as well. If De Villiers is a clown, he’s the unfunny kind, and the only people laughing are those who aren’t South African. They want De Villiers to continue because they know he’s the Boks’ primary stumbling block. Technically, he offers nothing, and his controversial rants only result in more pressure on a team that he’s ironically sworn to protect.
All these incidents have been kept in a file and the latest comment, which amounts to backing an alleged murderer, should be the blunder that hastens his departure. He no longer enjoys the government’s support, and his president will no longer tolerate his arrogance. Regan Hoskins has been instructed not to comment, but deal with the situation. There’s no way De Villiers can survive the axe. Anything but an axing will be a let off.
Regardless of what happens in the final Tri-Nations Test on Saturday, Peter de Villiers can no longer be tolerated. The Boks are the world champions and the South African community should accept nothing but the best. It’s been obvious from day one that De Villiers doesn’t fit the criteria, and he’s consistently proved it over a three-year career. The free ride is over.
Follow SA Rugby mag on Twitter
752 Comments
Pages: « 1 … 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 [15] 16 » Show All
1 Sep 2010, 23:41 pm
@whatever(whatever)-695: hehe they can be found the world over those cars…
1 Sep 2010, 23:41 pm
@SodaJoe(SodaJoe)-675:
Your depression is greater than mine it seems.
BTW did you get the post about Davide Somma being a JHB boytjie?
1 Sep 2010, 23:45 pm
@SodaJoe(SodaJoe)-697: Well if it is gonna happen rather before the RWC that later
@poppa69(poppa69)-694: Jealous?
1 Sep 2010, 23:47 pm
Oh fk- all I know us south Africa must have the highest incidence if spritualists in the world outside of California, everyone is all so fkn soulful, one can’t even let a ripper go without reading into it’s esoteric reverberations.
1 Sep 2010, 23:49 pm
@JockBok(JockBok)-698: Och aye. Ye were but a wee bairn.
I am sure they have forgotten.
1 Sep 2010, 23:49 pm
when I was up in Orkney you’d swear hardly anybody lived there in their idyllic quiet haven of repose, surprised they even would notice whether the sun dial was vandalized or even existed or not, as nonchalant heavenly and idyllic an existence they lead, only to discover the day progressing once the clock tower bell rang at twelve to signify the start of the afternoon.
1 Sep 2010, 23:50 pm
@cab(cab)-704: Sulfur Caboxide. let a ripper go.
1 Sep 2010, 23:51 pm
@ET(ET)-702: Philly Steak. Is he? Wow, cool. Keeping on our great tradition – Albert, Philemon, The Chief. Awesome. Send me the details.
1 Sep 2010, 23:52 pm
@cab(cab)-704: Get with the program. You need to move from duality to Oneness now. Hurry up. F’kadilly.
1 Sep 2010, 23:52 pm
That’s right Joe and by the bye are u fkn insane setting him loose like that?
A wee dram and rabbie burns.
1 Sep 2010, 23:55 pm
@JL1(JL1)-703: lmao yep for sure..
at least everyone is talking about the Boks, as they say, any publicity is never bad publicity
right?
1 Sep 2010, 23:55 pm
@SodaJoe(SodaJoe)-705:
Yep, lucky they don’t have customs on the ferry.
Night allllllllllll………
1 Sep 2010, 23:56 pm
whats a spiritualist, in contrast to a materialist, any idea, at all, whatsoever? Betcha you don’t have half a foggy clue about wtf either one or the other is, as no one is neither, or where you stand in relation to the reality of not knowing anything. Far easier to bullsh’t yourself about knowing f’all, they say ignorance is bliss, though stupidity is even worse.
1 Sep 2010, 23:58 pm
But is stupid really clever or the other way around?
I’m not the sharpest.
2 Sep 2010, 00:00 am
@skopskiet(yliad)-706:
The sun dial was actually in the middle of nowhere, as is the whole of the Orkneys I suppose. But it was surprising how quick they were onto it. The guy in question scratched his name and the name of our town deep into it, so it wasn’t to much of a strech for the local police to suss out who it was. It was a nickname though and none of us would tell on him, so we all had to leave.
Oddly enough, the guy hung himself a few years later, but I don’t imagine it was connected with the disappointment of not being allowed to go back to the Orkneys…
Lol, outahere…
2 Sep 2010, 00:00 am
@poppa69(poppa69)-711: You here, so it cannot be that bad
2 Sep 2010, 00:06 am
@skopskiet(yliad)-696:
OK, so lets say cleverness = 1 & stupidity = 2. By your logic 1 = 2 and you can then say you have 1 hand but what you really mean is that you have 2 hands & visa versa.
You have just written a sentence that is completely illogical, irrelevant, pointless and stupid.
Congratulations!
2 Sep 2010, 00:09 am
@Inevitable(Inevitable)-717:
It’s not the first
2 Sep 2010, 00:10 am
Holy poep it’s principia mathematica on keo
who would’ve guess
too hifalutin?
Night night
2 Sep 2010, 00:10 am
far better to be stupid than clever, you got far less cr@p in your stuffed up brain to undo that way around.
once you actually get to realize you actually know sweet fanny f’all, thats about perhaps when you ready to put your first step forward to knowing anything at all worth while.
second hand information like certain sciences and paraphernalia of stuff we read and absorb through intellect only serves to make empty vessels clatter louder than they were when they were devoid of useless clutter.
Its only a still mind that can know anything worth knowing, these agitated cluttered up vessels of useless information, well you can listen to them all day long forever and never get anywhere nearer to knowing anything valid at all.
2 Sep 2010, 00:16 am
@JL1(JL1)-716: I am actually involved in a coulrophobia study, where we are trying to better understand the mechinations of the internal wiring systems that lead to this condition..
the thing that amazes me is it seems to be contagious, the number of coulrophobia sufferers on this website is astounding..
and the one stand out stat to come from the whole study is its uncanny link to theories on conspiracy..
seems that is the number one symptom most coulrophobia sufferers experience…
best you innoculate yourself soon, before you too are overcome with said condition..
2 Sep 2010, 00:17 am
@skopskiet(yliad)-720:
“Better to keep your mouth closed and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt”
2 Sep 2010, 00:22 am
@skopskiet(yliad)-554: Hahahah my man!! Finally a response. Just getting tired of fuckadilly and blustering blah blah blah. Maybe try writing your opinions with a little less vehemence sometime. Could be refreshing. Otherwise theres some of your opinions I agree with and some I dont like all of us in here. No-one seems to agree on everything lol.
Ta for the last page or so of banter along with Soda Joe theres some rather poetic moments in there. Buenas noches señor!
2 Sep 2010, 00:23 am
Ja, far better to be thought a fool than to actually be one that thinks he’s not.
far rather be thought a fool than to actually be an idiot that thinks he’s clever.
Some think logic denotes cleverness, or logic represents wisdom.
Quite the opposite, wisdom and knowledge is perhaps totally illogical once you strip away the ignorance that knows nothing.
2 Sep 2010, 00:23 am
@Slumtown(Slumtown)-723: welcome adios
2 Sep 2010, 00:31 am
@skopskiet(yliad)-724:
People are judged by what they say and do. If you say racist things you will be judged a racist. If you do or say stupid things you will be judged accordingly. No amount of rationalization of what you do or say can make it right if it is wrong.
You need to take a long hard look at the man in the mirror.
2 Sep 2010, 00:31 am
@poppa69(poppa69)-721: No need to worry about me, no need at all
2 Sep 2010, 01:21 am
@Inevitable(Inevitable)-726: not about to live up to yours or any others expectations of what you or they might think or believe to be racist or stupid. Could very well be quite the other way around, could even be here’s the mirror old chap and you looking straight into it.
2 Sep 2010, 04:35 am
Its like Nostradamus made another prediction…. haha, cant wait to see the Sunday paper’s headlines.
2 Sep 2010, 04:58 am
far better to be stupid than clever
Tis what all the stupid people say…
2 Sep 2010, 07:08 am
I question if some people know what they are talking about on this website. Anyone who knows Rugby can tell you NEVER change coach or core squad players a few months from defending the William Webb Ellis trophy for a RECORD 3rd time. NO other country would have won it that many times before and NO other country has defended it before. We stand at the brink of becoming the “Brazil” of international Rugby and you want to fire the coach for making an honest statement about a Man who has been ACCUSED of murder.
Let me please remind you that a person is INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY!
Let me please also remind you that the media blows things out of context to sell more publications. Lets wait for the case to be finalised before we cast Bees Roux into the wilderness to serve his sentence without even a fair trial first.
We cannot change the coach. This guy last year led us to a Tri Nations title and a historic series win over the British and Irish Lions. I would not say the squad has done too badly. We cannot change direction or focus mid-stride please.
Jake White even said it. You need AT LEAST 4 years to build a team. Simple.
2 Sep 2010, 07:14 am
@Karma-zaf(Karma-zaf)-731:
“defending the William Webb Ellis trophy for a RECORD 3rd time”
SA havent defended the trophy once…
No team has defended the trophy in its relative short history…
best you go back to the pipe son…
2 Sep 2010, 07:33 am
@poppa69(poppa69)-732: “NO other country would have won it that many times before and NO other country has defended it before”.
Best you go back to the eye Doc ASAP old Man
2 Sep 2010, 07:42 am
@Karma-zaf(Karma-zaf)-731:
It is not about whether Bees is innocent or guilty. None of us (and that includes Peter de Villiers) have the facts and know what really happened that fateful night.
De Villiers represents Souith African rugby and the outside world takes note of what he is saying. As he has no clue what happened on that night he should have stayed stayed away from the issue (apparently he was not even asked to comment but did it anyway) or he should have said something like that he has faith in the justice system and that he will wait for the outcome of the case.
Instead he did not think and just shot from the hip as usual and gave the press the opportunity to create the impression that he is supporting Bees irrespective of whether he is innocent or guilty.
His statement that Bok supporters are against the team if they dare to critisize it (we certainly have that right even if we support the team) is another case in point.
And so we can go on and on and on – the one embarrasing statement after the other – can we really afford to allow such a man 4 years to “build a team” and makes us the laughing stock of world rugby in the meantime?
2 Sep 2010, 07:50 am
@Robzim(Robzim)-734: I get your point RobZim but the fact remains he is a Human being who has not been found guilty yet.
Secondly after PdV patchy track record of media coverage why is the guy still giving press conferences? Surely it is not his fault then? Who is the media liason? Fire him if you must but why fire the HEAD COACH and disrupt the cart a few months before we become the first country in the History of Rugby to defend the World Cup?
My last point is you say “can we really afford to allow such a man 4 years to “build a team” and makes us the laughing stock of world rugby in the meantime”?
My answer to that is PdV has been in charge for almost 3 1/2 years now mate. Have you been away from civilisation or was that an honest mistake? Regardless we are 75% of the way with the guy. Lets finish this and defend the World Cup please
2 Sep 2010, 08:07 am
P dV must go. He is out of his depth and has been exposed as a coach who responds too slowly to the changing situation. A new coaching set up at this stage would not be the setback some have claimed as the Bok squad does not need rebuilding. It needs some pruning of personnel, the elevation of some exciting (and available talent) and a coaching staff with vision and an ability adapt quickly to changing situations. Smit and Januarie are two obvious players who are denying many other better players a place.
Jake is not the answer either. He did an outstanding job at the time but his time has passed as well. The only realistic contenders are Alistair Coetzee and Heineke Meyer.
If P dV is replaced I hope Coetzee gets the nod. He was part of the successful coaching team at the last cup and so has the experience. He has also proven himself with the Stormers and WP. Sadly, he would also keep the race obsessed faction in government happy. either way the time for change is now. A EOYT and a trinations stand between us and RWC 2011. That should be ample for the right management team.
2 Sep 2010, 08:07 am
@ET(ET)-606:
Hi,
Hope you see this – sorry I could not respond last night.
As you are probably aware I was initially impressed and supported Div and his ideas.
I can only speculate on why he turned away from the type of game that the boks played in the matches you referred to. My take is that some of the most influential senior players in the team were not comfortable with a more expansive (heads up) approach and preferred a more structured game and that PdV was not strong enough to resist them or had the courage of conviction to drop them and select those who were prepared to play according to his wishes and ideas.
In short, he backed the wrong horses to run the show, and is now caught pants down as the game has evolved to another level.
To put it bluntly, imo he sold out his ideas to transform the SA game to the John Smit old boys club.
2 Sep 2010, 08:16 am
@Karma-zaf(Karma-zaf)-735:
Yeah, the 3 and a half years were a bit much, he caused a lot of embarrasment that we could ill afford during that time.
I do however believe he will “lead ” the team to NZ next year to probably some more embarrasment and a exit before the finals.
2 Sep 2010, 08:22 am
This close to the World Cup firing PdV would be crazy.
2 Sep 2010, 08:48 am
@stormer in a teacup(stormer in a teacup)-736: good post.
mirrows the way i see it.
just not sure AC is the answer though
2 Sep 2010, 08:51 am
@Ratel Brussow(Morne Steyn is under-rated)-739: no mate
it would be crazy not to.
Fire him, the other 2 stooges and plod….
13 months enough time.
dont do it and we gone anyway….quarter finals at best come 2011 wc.
We got nothing to lose….PDV gambled with his soull…..this is what happens when deals are made with the fat boys club….always comes back to haunt you.
PDV should have stood firm, he blinked, folded and now stands at the precipice….and not a fat boy in sight to assist.
2 Sep 2010, 08:57 am
Madness to think he is going to get fired.
They will ride him to the World Cup where they will not renue his contract post 2011, have invested too much up till this point and the Administration are going to have egg all over their faces if they admit he is a “clown”.
2 Sep 2010, 09:16 am
Please keep him on as bokke coach – it would help NZ’s cause no end!
2 Sep 2010, 09:38 am
All the Boks opponents are hoping divvy hangs on.
2 Sep 2010, 09:42 am
I am a south african living in NZ and there it is amazing to see how the rugby writers over here are just so disgusted that south africa have so little respect for the role of bok coach that they give it to someone who is completely and utterly unworthy of the position.
every kiwi wanting to win the world cup knows that they have a better chance with de villiers at the helm. but at the same time know that they are not playing against the best possible bok team while he is the man in charge.
the question is not whether or not he should be fired this close to the world cup – the question is who is going to replace him? and will gold and muir be retained or one of them promoted? thats really what I’d like to know.
furthermore will a new coach feel pressured to do well on the NH tour, or will he use it as an opportunity to test SA’s depth and to rest the players so desperately in need of it?
2 Sep 2010, 11:43 am
Truth is coming out slowly……..http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Bees-was-being-blackmailed-20100902
2 Sep 2010, 12:36 pm
Bliksem, and I’d thought journalistic standards had dropped about as far as they could! Amusing also to see all the ranting, proving Mallet’s dig at SA rugby supporters being stupid; over and over.
I’m certainly not a rugby kenner but do we have to turn on our man (keo), try blame senior players!! (G10 & snottie) in such panic?
I do not believe so. PdV is technically not the best man for the job. Mallett is; but by no means great. But let’s not keep looking backwards. I say the SNAFU/ the Boks need to recognise PdV’s limitations and appoint more support staff. A manager say, Morne du Plessis; a defensive coach (say from WP); a “flyhalf” coach who knows that key position (not Muir – he’s limited) then a loose forwards / locks coach (maybe Rassie, Andre Venter, Mark Andrews?). Then phsycho (Bakkies) and visualisation etc workshop type coaches.
Maybe some of the incumbents can fit in. The scrum appears better with Os around. Kicking is ok; but MS needs a rest now and then.
My casual view is that the Boks lack a sensible rotation policy, clear, well drilled game plans and super coaching targetting key positions.
Then there is SA rugby admin and oaficials, O kak!
2 Sep 2010, 14:33 pm
Bye bye Krusty, thanks for the memories, first comedian to ever make Boks coach.
3 Sep 2010, 11:01 am
Springbok rugby may not be that entertaining,but for sure there
is never a dull moment with PDV around.Perhaps he should
approach Leon Schuster for a role in his next movie and play the role of a Springbok coach based on his life.Laughs a minute
I reckon.
3 Sep 2010, 12:07 pm
Up front I believe that anyone that thinks PdV is about to be fired is divorced from reality. This however doesn’t mean he should have been fired ages ago. The build up to the NZ and Aussie tests were perfect (note I didn’t use the term near perfect). The reason for this is that PdV kept his mouth shut. I often think of him as the perfect motivator for the opposing team. How did the words “We don’t feel intimidated when coming to NZ” bite him in the ***? What does he however do before this weekend’s test. He starts by given die-hard fans the finger with his “If you’re not with us, you’re against us” jibe. Hendrik Verwoerd, PW Botha and Robert Mugabe are so proud. Then the Bees issue. If a person doesn’t have the basic intellect or vocabulary (or both) to enter an area as sensitive as that they should stay away. I think PdV was well intentioned but just doesn’t have the savvy to get that across.
Pages: « 1 … 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 [15] 16 » Show All
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.