The South African Rugby Union on Friday put the entire world
out of its misery by confirming the worst-kept secret - Heyneke Meyer is
the new Springbok coach.
At a media briefing in Cape Town they confirmed that the Bulls
supremo, Meyer, has replaced Peter de Villiers as the national team's
mentor.
His contract is for a period of four years.
It has been widely speculated in the media that Meyer, SARU's
preferred candidate, had beaten off the challenge of Ireland forwards
coach Gert Smal.
The Blue Bulls Company let the cat out of the bag earlier this week
when they confirmed that SARU vice-President James Stoffberg and SARU
CEO Jurie Roux had met with the company's board in Pretoria.
SARU, in a later dispatch from Newlands, also confirmed that they
intended to employ Meyer as the new Springbok mentor, effectively
pre-empting Friday's announcement.
This followed months of speculation regarding the favoured
candidates for the position.
Meyer and Ireland forwards coach Gert Smal were tipped as the
frontrunners to replace De Villiers, who led the Springboks to the
quarterfinals of last year's World Cup in New Zealand. Allister Coetzee,
who was also linked to the SARU shortlist, and De Villiers were never
really in the race.
Meyer was the favourite out of four shortlisted candidates four years
ago to succeed World Cup-winning mentor Jake White, but lost out to De
Villiers at the 11th hour.
SARU President Oregan Hoskins said at the time that transformation
had played an important role in the appointment of De Villiers.
Meyer guided the Bulls to South Africa's second Super Rugby title in
2007 and won four Currie Cup titles with the union, lifting the Blue
Bulls from the doldrums and making them one of the most successful
provincial teams in the rugby world.
Source: Rugby365.com
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