While it may not be official yet it seems all but certain that SARU will end the tumultuous reign of Peter de Villiers in December, and will look elsewhere for a coaching team to take the ailing Springbok side into an exciting new era.

The back of de Villiers will be a welcome sight for South African rugby fans who quickly became disillusioned with his numerous public gaffes and public relations disasters, not to mention his poor record as coach and inability to change a playing style that had far exceeded its expiry date. Add to that de Villiers’ steadfast determination to keep the crux of his playing corps unchanged over his four year reign and it becomes clear why South Africans have become so frustrated with the man known as Snor.

The admission by Oregan Hoskins (President of SARU) that the appointment of de Villiers had been made with ‘transformation policies’ in mind immediately put de Villiers under immense pressure to succeed, as his appointment came after years of resentment from the South African public towards the quota system. The predicament de Villiers found himself in was further entrenched after comments made by him shortly after his appointment. He stated "I always knew I was destined for something big - but I did not realise it would be this big (Springbok coach). Whatever job I did I always excelled at it, and quickly.”

That quote preceded a string of comments made by de Villiers during his reign, as he became renowned more for his embarrassing quotes than his ability as a rugby coach. No more so than his infamous quote after the Schalk Burger eye-gouging incident in the second test against the British and Irish Lions in Pretoria. De Villiers, while fielding questions regarding the incident, quipped "Why don't we go to the nearest ballet shop, get some tutus and get a dancing shop going? There will be no eye gouging, no tackling, no nothing, and we will enjoy it.'' 

Couple this with de Villiers’ disappointing record as Bok coach and his tenure can be described as nothing short of a failure. His unwillingness to bring through young talent has left a void in Springbok structures, with no young talent (with the notable exception of Patrick Lambie) having gained any noticeable experience during his reign.

De Villiers leaves with a record of having been in charge of 48 matches, winning 30 of them for a winning record of 62.5% - not a bad statistic, but not overly impressive. When dissecting the stats, however, small chinks in this record start to appear. His record against Tri-Nations opponents New Zealand and Australia shows 9 wins and 14 losses in 23 games. After the glory year of 2009, this record dwindles down to 11 played, 2 won and 9 lost - a winning percentage of 18%.

It is no surprise that the South African rugby public (and no doubt SARU as well) have been eagerly anticipating seeing the back of Snor, a man who will be remembered for anything but his ability (or inability) as a rugby coach. 

Good luck Snor, just please, stay away from a mic.

Click Here for a collection of de Villiers’ most infamous quotes