Peter “The Puppet” socks it to his critics

Peter De Villiers has a diabolical taste in fashion, judging by his outlandish ties, garish shirts, and the cricket-styled pullovers he seems to be so fond of wearing. He has a rather outdated moustache, resembling a life-like Yosemite Sam, or a throwback to the disco era, back when the Village People reigned supreme. In addition, he has an unnervingly high voice, sounding as if someone has grabbed him by the scrotal region, or he’s just sucked on a helium-filled balloon.

However, he also happens to be the first Springbok coach in almost a century to taste victory in Dunedin, and the first to win in New Zealand itself in 10 years. For that reason alone, he should be allowed to wear his dodgy ties — and speak in his high-pitched tone — to his heart’s content.

He certainly earns the right, having endured what can best be described as “a week from hell”. This after losing for the first time in his tenure, away from home to what was then the number one ranked side in the world. With the amount of anger and accusations flying around thereafter, one could have sworn we had just lost to the likes of Equatorial Guinea, or England. The reaction of local rugby fans can be excused somewhat, as South African supporters tend to flip from one extreme opinion to the next, like an opportunistic politician during the floor-crossing window.

The treatment he received by the local media, however, was certainly quite bizarre. As far as I was aware, the result wasn’t 52-16, or even 45-26, heavy losses our previous coaches had suffered at the hands of the All Blacks (and in South Africa nogal) No, the result was 19-8, on a bitterly cold and wet night in Wellington, where the conditions were more suited to a night under the covers watching a DVD rather than out on the rugby field. Yet journalists were quick to pounce, questioning his ability and aptitude for test rugby. Cape Argus reporter Gavin Rich, usually so bland and vanilla at the best of times, suddenly smelt blood, and proclaimed that De Villiers was out of his depth, going on to suggest that his supporting staff were the real brains in the Bok camp. This was of course given extra legs thanks to the drivel spewed by former Kiwi Craig Dowd, who labelled De Villiers a “puppet” who didn’t know anything about the game. The general consensus now seems to be that the Springboks are world champions, the All Blacks are second-rate, and we should be able to beat all and sundry.

Some perspective is clearly needed.

Let’s be rational here: the All Blacks — despite losing some senior players to the European leagues — will always be competitive, just as the Springboks would expect to be. The notion that New Zealand is a fading rugby power also loses credibility when one takes into account that the Crusaders are the reigning Super 14 champions, defeating the best that South Africa has to offer. If Leon McDonald can turn it on in a Crusader jersey, why the expectation then that he won’t in an All Black one? It’s bloody hard to win in New Zealand, as it is in Australia, South Africa and any major rugby playing nation. In the professional era, an away win is like gold, and players and coaches who achieve this should be given the credit they deserve.

Looking at De Villiers’ record thus far, he seems to be doing remarkably well for a mere “puppet”. After playing five test matches, including the current Six Nations champions Wales and the All Blacks in their backyard, he sits pretty with a win record of 80%, and is the only modern era Springbok coach besides Nick Mallet to achieve that elusive away win in Kiwi land. Jake White, our World Cup winning coach and perennial fan favourite, could only manage three wins against the All Blacks in nine attempts, all of which came at home, again shedding further light on the coaching credentials of De Villiers.

Let’s get off his back then and toast a great win. Peter De Villiers is no mug — given enough time, he can lead us to further victories. Let’s all just cut the man some slack and let him get on with things.