Peter de Villiers: Coaching SA deaf sevens is NOT a step down!

Last month it was confirmed that former Springboks coach Peter de Villiers has returned to rugby in South Africa as coach of both the men’s and women’s national deaf sevens team.

De Villiers’ appointment was confirmed by the president of the SA Rugby Association for deaf players, Reneen Stenekamp, and he has taken over with immediate effect.

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“Peter has been appointed with immediate effect until and including the World Cup tournament for deaf sevens players in Cordoba, Argentina,” said Stenekamp.

The tournament is scheduled to take place in 2023. 

Taking to social media, De Villiers has now spoken out about the appointment, seeking to answer questions around the appointment and why he emphatically felt that it was not a “step down”.

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Previously, De Villiers said he felt he could help inspire others through this new role.

“During my time as Bok head coach, I firmly believed that rugby had the power to uplift the community and, more importantly, to develop individuals who might not have had the same access to sport like others.

“When the SA Rugby Association for the deaf approached me and explained their reasons for creating two teams for male and female players who will work to play in a World Cup next year, I immediately said I wanted to be involved.

“The chance to add value to a class of rugby that I have never experienced before, to help individuals reach their potential and also to develop future leaders and finishers in South Africa is something that I simply could not pass up,” said Peter de Villiers.

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Peter de Villiers spent four years at the helm of the Springboks

De Villiers coached the Springboks from 2008 to 2011, with a controversial defeat to Australia in the 2011 Rugby World Cup quarter-final coming at the end of his tenure.

While not everyone’s cup of tea while at the helm of the Springboks, under Peter de Villiers’ leadership the national side won 30 of their 48 Tests.

That 62.5% win percentage included a 47% win percentage against the All Blacks, having played them 11 times, winning 5 and losing 6 of those matches.

It has been a tragic last few years for De Villiers.

In late 2019 he lost his daughter, Odille Monk, after a brave fight against cancer aged just 28.

Then in early April this year, De Villiers‘ wife’s body was found floating in a swimming pool in Gqeberha having tragically drowned.

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