Peter de Villiers

Peter de Villiers (born 3 June 1957) is a South African rugby union coach. He was controvertialy named as the coach of South Africa's national team, the "Springboks" in January 2008, the first-ever non-white coach of the team. [Jones, Stephen. [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/rugby/article3177362.ece "Springboks’ first black coach faces uphill task: As Peter de Villiers takes charge of South Africa, it is feared he may weaken the side to fulfil the role into which he has been cast"] , "The Sunday Times", January 13, 2008. Accessed January 13, 2008.]

De Villiers played scrum-half during the apartheid era, when the Springboks faced widespread international boycotts as the face of the white minority government, including exclusion from in the first two Rugby World Cup tournaments in 1987 and 1991.

He coached amateur club Tygerberg in 1996 and 1997. He coached the Western Province Disas in 1997, but it was in 1998 when he had his first major appointments as assistant coach for Western Province in the Currie Cup and also the South Africa national under-19 rugby union team. He took the South Africa Under 19 team to third in the 1999 Under 19 Rugby World Championship. He coached the Falcons in the 2002 and 2003 Currie Cup campaigns before going on to coach the South Africa national under-21 rugby union team between 2004 and 2006. In the 2004 Under 21 Rugby World Championship South Africa finished third, but won it in 2005, and came second in 2006. In 2007 he was appointed coach of the Emerging Springboks and coached them to the title of the 2007 Nations Cup.

Following Jake White's resignation as Springbok coach after clinching the Rugby World Cup in November 2007 in France, De Villier's was shortlisted for the role along with three other candidates, including successful Bulls coach Heynecke Meyer. In January 2008, de Villiers was appointed as the first ever non-white coach of the Springboks, with South African Rugby Union (SARU) President Oregan Hoskins indicating that rugby reasons were not the sole criteria for the appointment. Hoskins said: "We have made the appointment and taken into account the issue of transformation when we made it. I don’t think that tarnishes Peter — I’m just being honest with our country."cite web| url=http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=675882 |publisher=thetimes.co.za |title=Boks get first bruin afrikaner coach |last=Ray |first=Ray |date=2008-01-10 |accessdate=2008-01-10] ["Transformation" refers to the transition of rugby union in South Africa from a sport dominated by whites during the apartheid era, to a multi-cultural sport in the post-apartheid era.]

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*cite web| url=http://www.sarugby.co.za/default.asp?des=article&id=240233 |title=Peter de Villiers new Springbok coach |date=2008-01-09 |accessdate=2008-01-10 |publisher=sarugby.co.za
*cite news| url=http://www.planet-rugby.com/Story/0,18259,3551_3032977,00.html |title=New Bok coach to use `merit selection` |publisher=planet-rugby.com |accessdate=2008-01-10 |date=2008-01-09
*cite news| url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/rugby/article3160294.ece |title=Peter De Villiers named Springboks first black coach |publisher=timesonline.co.uk |accessdate=2008-01-10 |date=2008-01-09
*cite news| url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=80&objectid=10486098 |title=Springboks appoint black coach |publisher=nzherald.co.nz |accessdate=2008-01-10 |date=2008-01-10