Peter de Villiers in line for shock Springbok return? - reports

It has been reported in South Africa this morning that highly successful yet divisive former Springbok coach Peter de Villiers could be in line for a return to a Springbok coaching ticket.

A report in the Weekend Argus suggests De Villiers could be drafted back in some capacity under the stewardship of new South African director of rugby, Rassie Erasmus.

What role De Villiers would take is as yet unclear. The former coach has not been directly involved in rugby since exiting the Springbok job in 2011.

The Springboks won 30 of their 48 matches under the helm of De Villiers and had a 62.5 percent win percentage, boasting a 47 percent win percentage against the All Blacks, having played them 11 times and losing six matches.

De Villiers is the first Springbok coach since Nick Mallet to have a 100 percent win record over the All Blacks in a single year (2009) and was also the first coach since Nelie Smith to have secured a series win over the British and Irish Lions.

This week Deon Davids, the current head coach of Pro14 side the Southern Kings, has been tipped to be Coetzee’s successor and is believed to be highly rated by Erasmus.

In 2008 Davids coached the Emerging Springboks, before becoming an assistant to Eric Sauls with the Junior Boks when they finished third at the 2009 Junior World Championship.

Since then, he has spent time with the Golden Lions and the SWD Eagles before being appointed head coach of the Kings in 2016. It is believed that Erasmus, who was head of the SA Rugby Mobi Unit at the time, played a role in Davids’ appointment at the Kings.