Former Springbok coach Peter de Villiers has been appointed as the new EP Elephants head coach.
DE VILLIERS WAS 1 OF 5 SHORTLISTED
De Villiers was one of five coaches who appeared before the EP panel on Wednesday for his interview for the role.
The interview process also included former Springbok assistant coach Ricardo Loubscher, Deon Kayser, Jonathan Mokuena and Kevin Musikanth.
De Villiers has been appointed on a 1-year contract with an option to renew for 2 years thereafter.
On Friday, the EPRU confirmed that De Villiers had been appointed.
‘Being the coach of EP poses the opportunity to for us to actually unite a divided community into one support group that is behind the team that is supposed to be one of the best in the country,’ said De Villiers in an EPRU statement.
‘It is going to be a challenge but with the input of all stakeholders, we will be able to reach our goal. My plan for the union is that I need a lot of support from all the stakeholders to build bridges and to get the right personnel together and make sure that everybody understands what the collective goal is.
‘I will work hard to make sure we achieve our goals.’
One of his first tasks will be to oversee the EP Elephants during next year’s SA Cup and Currie Cup campaigns.
The SA Cup kicks off in March 2021 and EP have set their sights on qualification for the Currie Cup Premier Division by finishing among the top 3 teams in the coastal stream of the tournament.
DE VILLIERS LED SPRINGBOKS TO BRITISH LIONS WIN
While not everyone’s cup of tea while at the helm of the Springboks, under De Villiers’ leadership (from 2008 to 2011) the national side won 30 of their 48 matches.
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.
De Villiers is the first Springbok coach since Nick Mallett to have a 100% win record over the All Blacks in a single year (2009).
De Villiers led the Springboks to victory in the 2009 Tri-Nations as well as a Test series win over the British & Irish Lions the same year.
