PETER DE VILLIERS APPOINTED: Why he is the right man to take Zimbabwe forward

Former South African rugby union coach Peter de Villiers has been confirmed as the new man at the helm of the Zimbabwe team.

He signed a two-year contract along with Brendan Dawson proclaiming the best day of his life.

And we have four reasons why we think he is the right man to take the Sables forward especially in World Cup qualifying year.

1. He achieved success in a difficult system: A winner against the British and Irish Lions and the only SA coach to ever win in New Zealand against All Blacks. But this was against of being named as the first black coach of the Boks and therefore in a space rigged against him.In an interview he said:
   When I was appointed as coach, there was another coach on stand-by just in case I don’t make it, and they tried about four or five times to get rid of me in my four years as coach. I was a little bit more astute than Allister was, I did not sign my contract until there was a performance clause in it, and at the end it was the performance clause that kept me in my job for four years.
   The Zimbabwe job comes with its struggles and he will need to work around those. While the system generally won’t want him to fail, the resources offered to him will feel like a serious challenge
2. An achiever: We have made reference to what he has done but having a coach who has taken his team to the wall (Game of Thrones wall by the way) will draw automatic respect from the players. Just loo at 62.5% win percentage includes a 47% win percentage against the All Blacks. First coach since Nick Mallet to win 100% in a year against New Zealand. Come on now.
3. Renewed hope:  After the last few years where Zimbabwe was humiliated to no end and only survived relegation by centimetres within inches, the fans will be reinvigorated, a palpable zeal giving the impression the new board is serious about turning the game around.
4. The challenge. A competitive man, he will want the challenge, a chance to make something out of a team with struggles, to chase dreams.

De Villiers was announced as Zimbabwe coach at an event at Meikles Hotel in Harare.

It is now time for Zimbabwe Rugby to give him the support he needs ahead of the first Sables match in June.

Subscribe to Blog via Email