Adnaan Mohamed - Sport24's man on tour with the Boks

Hamilton – We did it for our people! That was the reaction of Springbok coach, Peter de Villiers, after his team's emphatic 32-29 Tri-Nations victory over the All Blacks at the Waikato stadium in Hamilton on Saturday.

"It was tough, really tough, and my heart was in my throat at the end," an elated De Villiers said after his team clinched the Tri-Nations title on Saturday.

"To beat New Zealand in New Zealand is really huge, but it is for the country more than for me. The people back home will need this accolade of winning the Tri-Nations more than me in this time of economic crisis. It will give people in poverty hope for the future. If a guy like me can do it, then anybody can," said De Villiers.

The Bok coach did not celebrate his finest hour on the field with the rest of his triumphant team, but the Springbok coach said he had not been shy to mark the occasion of the Tri-Nations title up in the stands.

"I assure you I was celebrating in my own way up here in the stands and I will celebrate some more tonight," De Villiers said after the triumph.

De Villiers has come in for plenty of criticism back home in the past and his team's approach to the Tri-Nations was also frowned upon, even though the Springboks are currently on top of the try-scorers list in the competition.  There have also been suggestions that he was a token appointment and the senior players should take the credit for the team's success.

"What would the world be without opinionated people? As long as people keep speaking about us, it will keep us on our toes and we can use it as motivation.

"You have to get the blend right in this competition, you can't stick to one thing only. It comes down to decision-making and some of the decision-making has been very good, some of it just good and last week it was not so good," De Villiers said.

The New Zealand media, remembering the All Blacks' own wretched record of dominating between World Cups but then bombing out when the big prize is at stake, have been quizzing De Villiers as to whether this Springbok team has reached the pinnacle of its powers.

The coach's answer has been emphatic.

"We won't get ahead of ourselves, there were still a lot of mistakes out there, so we haven't seen the best of this team yet. There's still a lot of work to do, we won't be sitting back. We know the World Cup in New Zealand will be very tough, but this team can still go places if it remains humble and we keep our feet on the ground."