Former Springboks head honcho Peter de Villiers, who led them between 2008 and 2011, was one of the best South Africa ever had.

That is according to ex-wing Odwa Ndungane, who played under the much-maligned De Villiers during his time in the national team set-up.

After Jake White’s departure following the 2007 Rugby World Cup success, De Villiers was appointed and became the country’s first black head coach.

Criticism of his appointment and time in charge

It was not met with universal acclaim by South African fans and there was certainly criticism of him throughout his Springboks tenure, but Ndungane had a different view.

“I did quite enjoy Peter de Villiers. He was actually quite a funny guy, he’s got quite a personality about him and I also take my hat off to him,” he told Front Row Rugby.

“He was under huge pressure coming into the job. Being at the top coaching the Springboks, pressure from the fans and pressure from the media is part and parcel of the job, and where I take my hat off is how he handled everything.

“You could never tell within the squad that he was not enjoying his job because of the pressure he was under. Every single time we would come across him in the changing room, in the hotel room, the bus, he was always full of energy, full of positivity.

“In terms of technical coaching, he was definitely up there. He had good plans for us and I think he surrounded himself with good coaching staff in Dick [Muir] and Gary [Gold].”

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Ndungane’s praise came despite his criticism of one aspect of De Villiers’ reign, which actually would have impacted him significantly.

The 44-year-old, who earned nine Test caps, was generally on the periphery of the squad and felt he did not get enough feedback from the head coach at the time.

It was in stark contrast to current boss Rassie Erasmus, who has often been praised for his communication skills.

De Villiers’ key weakness

“One thing he possibly lacked, and not every coach is perfect, was in his communication. When I speak to some of the guys now in the Springboks set-up, the one thing they will tell you is Rassie is a very good communicator to everybody,” Ndungane said.

“I’ve been in many teams and played under quite a few coaches and the one thing they don’t understand is important – they don’t really pay much attention to – is being able to make your whole group feel important.

“They focus on the 1-23, 1-15 and pay a lot of attention there, and miss out involving the whole group. That’s what Rassie has managed to get right and why he’s able to change his team week in week out with everyone putting up a performance. People know when and how they’re going to play.

“In my opinion, that’s where I felt he didn’t do as well. I was part of that wider group, I wasn’t starting week in week out, so I felt his communication with the wider group wasn’t as good as it needed to be.”

De Villiers helped the Springboks to a series success over the British and Irish Lions in 2009, but his tenure ended after they exited the 2011 World Cup at the quarter-final stage.

“He was a very good coach and the results speak for themselves,” Ndungane added.

“When he was with the junior teams, when he was with the Springboks, he achieved a lot of success. He won a Lions tour, won the Tri-Nations, so it speaks volumes of his coaching pedigree.

“I think he’s definitely one of the top Springbok coaches.”

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