Peter de Villiers

De Villiers’ lively remarks eventually culminated in a rebuke by South African Minister of Sport, Makhenkesi Stofile, who told De Villiers to "keep his mouth shut" and "sober-up".

During the 2019 Rugby World Cup tournament in Japan De Villiers publicly announced that he no longer supported the Springbok rugby team because of the inclusion of Eben Etzebeth, who was accused of racist remarks before the start of the tournament. The remarks backfired on De Villiers and he tried, in vain, to explain his remarks. South African supporters demanded that he no longer parade in the Springbok blazer, which he wears on all promotional photos, since he no longer supports the team. He had to eat humble pie when the Springboks went on to win the World Rugby Cup trophy, beating England 32-12 in the final, and tried to quell the stormy waters by congratulating the Springboks on their win. It is believed to have had a serious effect on his "master classes" which he offered to would-be rugby coaches.

De Villiers was hired by Zimbabwe on a two-year contract in February 2018 - for a reported R115 000 per month salary - with the aim of getting the country back to the Rugby World Cup for the first time since 1991. Not only did Zimbabwe fail to make the 2019 World Cup, they were nearly relegated from Africa’s top-tier competition, and was fired shortly thereafter.

The Springboks' first training squad under De Villiers, comprising 42 players, included sixteen of colour. Dick Muir and Gary Gold were named assistant coaches shortly thereafter. Controversy arose again, however, when Ricky Januarie was dropped for "disciplinary reasons". Going into the Tri Nations, De Villiers's 28-man squad included ten of colour and took two victories against Wales (43–17 and 37–21) and one against Italy (26–0) in Incoming Tours.

Following the Springboks' 19–8 defeat at the hands of the All Blacks, De Villiers accused them of cheating. Several months later, in an interview with SA Sports Illustrated, he declared,

The side lost again, 16–9, to Australia not long after, but this time De Villiers cast no doubt over the probity of his opponents. In the after match interview De Villiers claimed there was a lot he could learn from the Australian team. He subsequently took his team to a historic triumph in Dunedin, trumping the All Blacks 30–28 before thrashing Argentina with nine tries in a score of 63–9.

Following an 11–9 defeat to Australia in the Rugby World Cup quarter-final, De Villiers confirmed that he will not resign, rather he will see out the rest of his contract that will expire in December 2011 and he will not be signing a new deal. He said, "I enjoyed it. I was in a privileged position to be able to contribute to my country. South African rugby is in a good state and will move forward after this."

In the 2011 Rugby World Cup year, De Villiers received much criticism especially from New Zealanders over comments he made about Super Rugby debutant Sonny Bill Williams, in which he described his offloading oriented game as "nonsense" and a bad example for rugby playing children, who were wasting their time seeking to imitate it.

He enjoyed mixed successes, managing South Africa to winning the 2009 Tri Nations, a test series win over the British and Irish Lions and a memorable first victory over New Zealand in Dunedin. However he also became known for his controversial off-field comments. South Africa finished bottom in the 2010 and 2011 Tri Nations, and following a quarter final defeat to Australia in the 2011 Rugby World Cup did not renew his contract.

In April 2009 he expressed shock that the captains of England, Scotland and Wales had been left out of the Lions squad for the 2009 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa. On 27 June 2009, after South Africa had defeated the Lions in the 2nd Test of the Series, de Villiers attracted criticism when he defended his blindside flanker, Schalk Burger, against charges of eye gouging, despite clear television evidence showing the offence had occurred. De Villiers said "I don't think it should have been a card at all. For me and for everybody, this is sport.". Even after Burger received an 8-week suspension from the IRB on 29 June, De Villers continued to defend him, saying "I have watched the television footage, and am still convinced that nothing he did was on purpose. He is an honourable man – he never meant to go to anyone's eye". However, later the same day, after a meeting with SARU, he apologised, saying "It was never my intention to suggest that I condone foul play. That is the last thing I would ever do and I apologise for that impression." His belated apology did not bring an end to the controversy, with numerous figures in International rugby continuing to criticise him, including Lions player Brian O'Driscoll, who said "To hear the South Africa coach talk about gouging being part of the game was semi-repulsive", and "regardless of the apology he may have submitted – it's essentially bringing the game into disrepute".

One of his more controversial comments featured a decidedly racial overtone. In June 2009 shortly after the first test between the Springboks and British and Irish Lions at Loftus Versveld in Pretoria, De Villiers was quoted as saying:

In June 2009, shortly after the second test between the Boks and the Lions, flanker Schalk Burger received an eight-week ban for eye-gouging Lions wing Luke Fitzgerald. De Villiers responded to the incident by reminding the press that "rugby is a contact sport, and so is dancing". He went on further by saying:

The Springboks won 30 of their 48 matches under the helm of De Villiers. The 62.5% win percentage includes a 47% win percentage against the All Blacks, having played them 11 times and losing 6 matches, one of which was 40-7. A record defeat at the time. De Villiers is the first Springbok coach since Nick Mallet to have a 100% win record over the All Blacks in a single year (2009). De Villiers is also the first coach since Nelie Smith to have secured a series win over the British and Irish Lions.

Springbok prop Tendai "Beast" Mtawarira has questioned whether former national coach Peter de Villiers was competent for the role he occupied between 2008 and 2011. Mtawarira, who made his Springbok debut under De Villiers' guidance in 2008, made the startling revelation in his new autobiography, Beast, which will be on sale from July.

Following the acrimonious conclusion of Jake White's tenure as Springbok coach, after South Africa's Rugby World Cup victory in France in November 2007, De Villiers was short-listed for the role along with three other candidates, including successful Bulls coach Heyneke Meyer. Cheeky Watson, Neil de Beer and Koos Rossouw were the people that were driving his campaign for election with Koos Rossouw being the major funder. In January 2008, De Villiers was appointed as the first ever non-white coach of the Springboks, but South African Rugby Union (SARU) President Oregan Hoskins indicated that his rugby credentials were not the sole motivation for the appointment: "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."

Mtawarira was referring to the fact that De Villiers had inherited Jake White's 2007 World Cup winning team with senior players like Victor Matfield, Fourie du Preez, Schalk Burger, John Smit, Bakkies Botha, Danie Rossouw, Jean de Villiers, Jaque Fourie, Bryan Habana and JP Pietersen ruling the roost.

He coached amateur club Tygerberg in 1996 and 1997, and the Western Province Disas in 1997. In 1998, he enjoyed his first major appointments as assistant coach for Western Province in the Currie Cup and also the South Africa national under-19 side, which he took to third in the 1999 Under 19 Rugby World Championship. He took the Falcons through 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 in 2005 and came second in 2006. In 2007, De Villiers was appointed coach of the Emerging Springboks and led them to the title of the 2007 Nations Cup.

Peter de Villiers (born 3 June 1957 in Paarl) is a South African rugby union player and coach. He was coach of the South Africa national rugby union team from 2008 to 2011, after successes with the South African U19 and U21 squads, and the first-ever non-white to be appointed to the position.