08 September
Dan Nicholl interview with Peter de Villiers
Article By: Dan Nicholl
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:56
With the Tri-Nations now over for South Africa, iafrica.com caught up with Springbok coach Peter de Villiers for an ‘exclusive’ tete-a-tete…
Dan: It’s been a tough introduction for you Peter — a great win to finish, but a difficult run before that…
Peter: It has been challenging Dan. When you walk through the shadow of the valley of death, sometimes it’s difficult to know which side your bread is buttered. But ultimately our strengths have allowed us to go the extra mile, and our weaknesses have not caught us short.
Dan: You’ve faced a lot of criticism during your tenure as coach. How have you dealt with that?
Peter: I have always believed that people who live in glass houses should not throw rocks, as you can see through the walls if they are glass, so you know who is throwing the rocks. But you cannot shut the door after the horse has bolted — you must catch the horse, and take it to water, to see if it will drink. That is all you can do.
Dan: I see… You’ve had a lot of faith in certain players, with Percy Montgomery reaching his hundred caps under you.
Peter: I have always liked Percy. I said at the start, when I was still in Cape Town, that if I cannot bring Montgomery to Table Mountain, then I must take Table Mountain to Montgomery. Just as Michael Owen took goals to Newcastle, so Percy has hit the nail on the head for me. And he has wonderful hair.
Dan: How important have your assistants been?
Peter: Gary Gold also has wonderful hair. I always tell him he has a golden touch, because his surname is Gold, which always makes him laugh. Laughter is very good as medicine, especially if you do not have medical aid. Dick Muir doesn’t have such nice hair, and he gets upset when I make a joke with his name. But they are ivory towers of strength. Without them, I am like Samson after getting a haircut.
Dan: How did you rate the All Black and Wallaby sides this year?
Peter: I think you can try to turn water into wine, but sometimes that wine is corked, and then you have made a difference, but not the one you wanted. Then have you succeeded? That is the question for Australia. The All Blacks have made a good wine, but they must not drink too much of it, because sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel is a train, and if you get off track, your chickens will be counted before they have hatched, leaving your eggs in different baskets. That is what New Zealand must understand.
Dan: There’s been talk of resting players for the end of year tour…
Peter: It is a long walk to freedom, and also a long flight to London, so I must ask myself, where do I draw the line? And what do I draw it with? Also, which players most need to get duty-free shopping for Christmas? These are important questions; sometimes the answer lies therein.
Dan: Will you be getting a break before the tour at the end of year?
Peter: I will be spending some time away from myself, relaxing, and reading my book of quotes from George Bush, which I always find inspiring. I also like watching the hotel documentaries of Mr. Basil Fawlty, another great man. It is very important to have role models.
September 8th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Dit is bull, ne??
September 8th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
Kan iemand nie in die k@k kom vir dit nie?
September 9th, 2008 at 4:00 am
Wel as hy k@k antwoorde wil gee is dit seker maar net sy eie skuld!
September 9th, 2008 at 8:35 am
WTF? Dan Nicholl you loser, this is a load of rubbish!
September 29th, 2008 at 6:12 am
[...] better selection of Peter de Villiers [...]
October 27th, 2008 at 4:56 am
[...] Peter de Villiers surprised quite a few experts by calling up Earl Rose to Bok flyhalf position instead of WP flyhalf Peter Grant. Luke Watson also withdrew himself from the squad before the team anouncement. [...]
November 5th, 2008 at 7:37 am
[...] Springbok team chosen by Peter de Villiers to face Wales on Saturday, 8 November 2008 in their 23rd test meeting since 1906 at the Millennium [...]
November 6th, 2008 at 10:28 am
Brilliant stuff Dan… truly genius!
November 8th, 2008 at 9:27 am
This is hysterical. Brilliant, Mr Nicholl.
November 12th, 2008 at 5:09 am
[...] Peter de Villiers named an unchanged team to play against Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday. Both Adrian Jacobs and Bakkies Botha have recovered from their injuries. [...]
November 21st, 2008 at 5:29 am
[...] coach Peter de Villiers named the Springbok team that’ll take on the English at Twuckenham on [...]
December 10th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
[...] twin brother, Sias (a flyhalf) at under-19 level, were to receive a call from Springbok Rugby Coach Peter de Villiers tomorrow asking him to join the ’Boks, he would choose to remain with the SA Sevens [...]
January 16th, 2009 at 3:31 am
[...] in the first week of February there will be a series of meetings between the individual coaches, Peter de Villiers, the selectors and myself before the submission of the final squads on February [...]
January 27th, 2009 at 10:21 am
[...] Peter de Villiers should pick Daan Human for the Springbok team for the British and Irish Lions tour later this year, according to former Springbok tighthead prop Cobus Visagie. [...]
February 7th, 2009 at 4:45 am
[...] individual players who will form the nucleus of our squad to face the Lions,” the Bok coach, Peter De Villiers, [...]
March 5th, 2009 at 2:58 am
[...] coach Peter de Villiers visited the Springbok Sevens teams in Dubai today for a motivational talk and customary jersey [...]
March 25th, 2009 at 4:50 am
[...] Klein Nederberg Secondary School hosted Peter de Villiers for a filmshoot with Sky TV on [...]
May 7th, 2009 at 3:16 am
[...] Percy Montgomery, the Springboks‘ most capped player and highest point scorer will be the new kicking coach to help the South African team according to Peter de Villiers. [...]
June 23rd, 2009 at 7:06 am
It is sad that Peter De Villiers had to blame racism for a mistake he made in the selection of Ricky January. His comments were completely uncalled for. The Beast who is clearly not White had an awesome game and every news article had utmost praise for him.I am talking about white and jornalists of colour. I recall when Francious Steyn made some decisions that cost the Sharks and the Boks a game the critisism was a lot worse on him than on De Villiers or January.
The fact that De Villiers also made a near fatal decision when he made the substitutes in the 1 st Lions test goes to show that mistakes are made and that one should never count a game as WON until the final whistle goes.Mr De Villiers take what the public say and create a picture from it. Reject what is blatantly junk. Create a picture from all the reasonable perspectives,REMEMBER the more perspectives the richer the picture, the richer the picture the better the decision.Don’t be a catalyst for racism of any kind. In your position YOU should be a lot bigger than that
October 7th, 2009 at 7:24 am
Brilliant