THIS MIGHT COME as something of a shock to anyone who saw footage of Peter deVilliers’ post-match press conference on Sunday, but the Springboks coach insists he hasn’t resigned.
After watching his side lose 11-9 to Australia, the South African appeared to deliver what amounted to a combative eulogy on the subject of his tenure in charge of the 2007 World Cup champions.
“It’s been a brilliant journey and one that none of you [the media] can take away from me. There’s a time to come and a time to go. The journey is over.”
But according to Rugby Heaven, the journey is anything but over.
De Villiers has since told a news conference that he intends to “live and die by” his four-year contract, meaning that he wouldn’t leave his role in the Springboks set-up until December at the earliest.
“No, I never resigned, I was just saying it was the end of the road. It’s logical, I have a four-year contract and I’ve known all along that this day would come. I will live and die by that contract, which ends in December and then I won’t have a job.”
Quite how the South African Rugby Union intends to reconcile De Villiers insistence that he has nothing left to give with his commitment to keep cashing pay-cheques is as yet unclear.
