Home > Rugby > As the Springboks turn from White to black, De Villiers' appointment sparks racial questions

As the Springboks turn from White to black, De Villiers' appointment sparks racial questions

The nation is divided over the successor to World Cup-winning coach Jake White after the South African Rugby Union president's hint that Peter De Villiers' colour may have influenced the decision.

by Larry Kwirirayi on 10 January 2008

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The choice of Peter De Villiers as the man to take over the coaching of the South African rugby team from the hugely successful Jake White is a surprising one, probably even for the man himself. The reason - it came just 24 hours after the players' union threw their weight overwhelmingly behind former Bulls coach Heyneke Meyer.

'What the SARA president actually said in diplomatic terms was: "Peter, you are not the best for the job. You just have the right skin colour"'

Now I am not about to haggle over whether De Villiers is the right choice or not from a technical perspective but if I was him, I am not sure about how good I would be feeling right now.

The choice itself and the reasons given for it by SARU president Oregan Hoskins hardly represented a ringing endorsement. In effect this quote was nothing short of a kick in the teeth:

''I want to be honest with South Africa and say the appointment did not take into account only rugby reasons. We took into account the issue of transformation in rugby very, very seriously when we made the appointment.''

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Comments (4)

by Greg Smith on January 10, 2008

I think De Villiers is feeling on top of the world & rightly so ! Those that haven't a comprehensive idea of Africa or who actually live in Africa but simply cannot emerge from the little bit of Europe they surround their mindset with, will not understand the good of this move. Also, many sports fans hyped only by immediate competitiveness are unhappy about the prospect of taking a dip during teething to a broader base in Rugby Union in Africa. I think we might have to take some losses during the next couple years, ultimately, we will be ALL the stronger for this move ! Its like money in the bank and overdue !

by seseta y cuatro on January 11, 2008

How many times have we regreted that 1995's triumph did not extend rugby's passion all over South Africa? I think the SARU is wisely trying to do it this time, and perhaps DV is the right man to do it. "It is bold", I have read somewhere (http://myhaka.blogspot.com) but it is also wise. Regards,

by loui on January 11, 2008

who realy cares if his black white yellow , if his is good for the job ,his good for rugby

by Riku Matsumota on January 14, 2008

Like I have said before, I wish De Villiers well. He seems a fully capable coach. However, if he starts selecting on colour he will destroy the Boks, destroy South Africas image abroad and destroy the moral of all who play the game in SA which will be very difficult to recover from. Its very discouraging to hear these kinds of responses. "I think we might have to take some losses during the next couple years, ultimately, we will be ALL the stronger for this move!" Thats the most illogical thing I've heard in quite a while. Taking losses will ruin the Boks, how then will that make us stronger? Because the coach is black? Because he will choose only black players? There is such thing as standards. In SA they use tranformation because they dont have the brains to invest in proper structures to DEVELOP black talent, not leapfrog them into the Bok squad. In all walks of life this is not helping SA and is hurting it in the long run, not making it stronger. Time and time again they take these stupid short cuts that

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