News

Bok skipper defends his coach

July 13 2009

Springbok captain John Smit is tired of comments in the media claiming that Peter de Villiers is out of his depth and says the outspoken coach should not be judged by his public persona.

The Bok skipper has once again come out in De Villiers' defence, saying that his boss largely misunderstood and thus receives unfair treatment from the press.

"People must understand that the vibe Peter gives out in the media is very different to the one we get from him as players," Smit told the Cape Argus adding that comments suggesting that the coach is incompetent, "irritates the living daylights" out of him.

"Look, we understand that he makes a meal of every press conference and sometimes gives the press ammunition, and this is something he will work on, but in our Springbok camp he creates a happy and positive environment for the players.

"In the 15 months he has coached us, not one reporter has ever quoted a player, even anonymously, as saying 'De Villiers does not know what he is doing', and that is because the players enjoy him"

Smit said that De Villiers is at least as good as World Cup-winning coach Jake White.

"He is very different to Jake White, but in some ways he is better. Technically you will not get better than Jake but Peter has other very good attributes."

Smit rubbished what is becoming a public perception that he is calling the shots in the Bok camp.

It is nice that people think highly of me," he laughs, "but I am just doing my job on the field as captain. You would have to ask, 'Am I doing more now that I did under Jake?' and the answer is no.

"I am more experienced now than under Jake, and the way the team runs and how it wants to play is very much how the team has been running itself since late 2006.

"It would be easy for me to say I am in charge of the team, but that is only the case on the field, where as captain I must keep the team headed in the right direction and playing according to plan.

"I don't see how it is fair that the coach is criticised because the captain is doing his job."

The Bok skipper had high expectations of his team for the Tri-Nations, which kicks off on Saturday.

"We are the favourites, I believe (according to the bookies), and we very much want to live up to that expectation. It is going to be one heck of a series," he said.

"I think the Wallabies are going to be much better than people think, and the All Blacks will get their act together (they were not in good form in the June Tests) - they always do, especially with Richie McCaw now back from injury."