KEY POINTS:
Peter de Villiers was this morning named as the new Springbok coach, replacing Jake White. De Villiers becomes the first black to coach South Africa, after enjoying considerable success at Under-19 and Under-21 level.
He fought off three other candidates on the shortlist - Heyneke Meyer, Allister Coetzee and Chester Williams.
A nine-person commission, headed by SA Rugby vice-president Mike Stofile, had been set up to appoint the new man, after White declined to apply for the job during the World Cup campaign.
They interviewed all four candidates this week and after his three-hour session on Monday, De Villiers had left the Newlands headquarters confident of his chances.
At a press conference at Saru headquarters at the Newlands rugby ground in Cape Town, the straight-talking De Villiers said he did not want people to dwell on his colour.
"The fact that I am the first black coach must end now," he said.
"Players out there must understand they will all stand an equal chance ... If they are good enough, talented enough and work hard enough they will be part of the squad."
De Villiers, who enjoyed considerable success with the "Baby Boks" at Under-19 and Under-21 level and, most recently, the Emerging Springboks, is seen as the man most capable of taking South African rugby along the road to transformation - an area where critics have argued that not even White was able to speed up change.
- INDEPENDENT (SOUTH AFRICA)
