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Cape Town – Springbok vice-captain, Victor Matfield believes South African coach, Peter de Villiers, does not get the credit he deserves.
Even though De Villiers has a 68 percent winning record in Test matches and South Africa recently won the Test series 2-1 against the British and Irish Lions, there are still many people who are still convinced De Villiers has nothing to do with the success of the national team.
They are under the impression the team is being coached by the teams' two assistant coaches, Dick Muir and Gary Gold, while senior players like Bok captain, John Smit, Matfield, Fourie du Preez, Juan Smit and Jean De Villiers (all leaders of Super14-franchises) are being credited for calling the shots on the playing field.
Certain sectors of the media have been speculating for a while that De Villiers is not in control of the team. The general feeling is that De Villiers got the Bok job because of his skin colour and not because of his ability as a rugby coach.
The fact that De Villiers has not been very diplomatic in the media, has also added fuel to the fire. It is for this reason that there is a perception in media circles that De Villiers is not competent to coach the Springboks.
According to Matfield this could not be further from the truth.
"No, we don't have any problem with the way Peter coaches us. He is a good guy that makes everyone feel comfortable. His technical knowledge of the game is impressive and we are very satisfied with his coaching ability," said Matfield.
"Not only does he get along well with the coaching and management team, but he also has a excellent working relationship with the players. You always know where you stand with him. Unlike many other coaches he allows the players to also give their input. That's what makes him a good coach," said the Bulls-captain.
