Eleven years after he masterminded the Wallabies' worst ever defeat, Australia's return to Ellis Park this weekend might have been a moment for South Africa to remember the coaching reign of Peter de Villiers.
And in recent times, they have been. But not in the most complimentary terms.
De Villiers, the colourful coach who was in charge when the Springboks beat Australia 53-8 in Johannesburg, has been back in the news courtesy of criticism by veteran Springbok Tendai Mtawarira in an upcoming memoir.
In an extract published last month, Mtawarira said de Villiers was "lucky" to have inherited a great team and was seen by the media "as a bit of a clown".
The book's launch was delayed after Mtawarira's comments on De Villers, who coached the Springboks from 2008 through to 2011, created a storm across South Africa.
De Villiers became Springboks coach after Jake White departed in the wake of the 2007 Rugby World Cup win and steered them to the Tri-Nations title in 2009 and a Lions Series win.
He was sacked by SA Rugby after the Springboks were knocked out in the 2011 World Cup quarter-finals, though he stayed on with the side until the end of that year, finishing with 30 wins from 48 Test matches in his tenure.
Mtawarira wrote in his book that de Villiers was "probably lucky" to take over a high-quality Springboks team at the start of 2008 and was considered a "clown" by South African media.
“He [de Villiers] was a fantastic coach of the Junior Springboks, but I think at the high level, he was probably lucky that a very good group of players was handed over to him,” Mtawarira wrote.
“His methods and approach didn’t really work with the Springboks, and as players, we had to be careful what we said to the media.
“What you said would get back to Peter and affect your place in the team. The media did not like Peter and thought he was a bit of a clown."
The comments received plenty of backlash and de Villiers himself hit back at Zimbabwe-born Mtawarira in a radio interview last month, saying it was "sad" to read his thoughts.
“If you look at how I fought to actually get him citizenship in South Africa, and how I fought to get him to be selected for this team, and how I fought for his teammates to accept him for who he was… It’s sad to listen and see this kind of stuff,” de Villiers said.
“But then again, I understand it. I do understand that we allow ourselves to be controlled by either outside forces, or money, or power and all those kinds of things.
“He was a number eight, he had some ball-sense. Very quiet – you couldn’t use him as part of your senior group because he had that mentality of ‘submissiveness’, if you can call it that, coming from Zimbabwe. They always… everybody else is better than them.
“Some players weren’t actually happy that he was there, but I could see something in him. I could see that there’s a lot of potential that we have to fulfil. It took hard work and belief to get him there.”
de Villiers also took exception to Mtawarira's suggestion he simply took over a talented team at the right time when he became Springboks coach.
“Everybody talks about the team we inherited from Jake White," he said on South African radio.
"Eighty percent of that team, I coached either at Under-19 or Under-21. So, if we go that route, he inherited that from us.
“If you look at the records that we broke with those players, when I took them over, especially in New Zealand and all around the world – if I used his players better than what he could use them, then there must be something that I did right.
“Quite rightfully, they were experienced players, they did win a World Cup. So, why would I go in there and change the whole thing?
“I think my management style and the way I understand people, and how I can identify the… guys’ abilities to actually become better than that, I think that was everything in my favour.
In a statement on the launch delay, Mtawarira said reaction to the passages had made him opt to push back its publication.
“With the reaction of some commentators to a single paragraph from the book as a possible indicator of the level of media attention and interest, we felt it necessary to delay the release of the book, so that I can focus solely on my rugby in preparation for possible inclusion in the World Cup squad,” he said.
De Villers was sacked as Zimbabwe coach earlier this year after failing to guide them to World Cup qualification, but is on the shortlist to take over as South Africa's Pro14 side the Kings.
