Peter de Villiers takes charge of the Sables

Peter de Villiers

FORMER Springbok coach Peter de Villiers was yesterday unveiled as the new head coach of the Zimbabwe rugby national team, the Sable.

De Villiers, who described the appointment as the “greatest day of my life”, will be assisted by Brendon Dawson.

It is understood that De Villiers beat out four other contenders for the job, a UK national, two South African nationals, and a Zimbabwean national. De Villiers was previously involved with the country’s Under-20 team, has signed a two-year contract.

De Villiers’ immediate task will be to attempt to help Zimbabwe to qualify for next year’s Rugby World Cup in Japan, which, if successful, would be the country’s first World Cup appearance since the 1991 tournament in England where they lost all three group matches to Scotland, Ireland and Japan.

Zimbabwe are likely to face stiff competition from Namibia in their hopes of qualifying. Should they do so however, they face a daunting prospect at the tournament itself, with the ‘Africa 1’ team – whoever it may be – drawn in the same pool at defending champions, the All Blacks, the Springboks and Italy.

He coached the Springboks between 2008 and 2011. The Springboks won 30 of their 48 matches under the helm of De Villiers.  His tenure came to an end following South Africa’s quarter final exit at the 2011 Rugby World Cup as they were knocked out by Australia in a controversial game that will forever be remembered by controversial decisions made by Kiwi referee Bryce Lawrence.

De Villiers finished his four years in charge with a respectable 62 percent win percentage and went on to take charge of the University of the Western Cape rugby structures as director of rugby between 2012 and 2015.

During his tenure as Springbok coach, De Villiers won five out of 11 Tests against the All Blacks – a better record than most Bok coaches in recent times.

The criteria used by the Sables committee for the appointment included, among other things, having a candidate that would reside in Zimbabwe, has international experience, a proven track record to match their international experience, and is a holder of a World Rugby level pre-coaching certificate.

In a short acceptance speech soon after being handed the Sables green jacket by Mlotshwa, De Villiers said he was pleased to have an opportunity to wear a green jacket, only this time it was not the South African green, but the Zimbabwean green.

“This is the greatest day of my life. We can’t control winning or losing and I won’t promise you that we will win every game, but I can promise that we will be prepared … I am also excited about the changes in this country and I believe that through sport we can unite people. I didn’t come here as the saviour of Zimbabwe rugby, but to only lead you,” De Villiers said.

Under his belt of achievements, De Villiers boasts wins in the under-21 World Cup, the Tri-Nations and was the only coach to beat the British Lions in the last 12 years.

Other notable achievements for De Villiers as Bok coach was a Tri-Nations win in 2009, as well as a series win over the British and Irish Lions that same year.