Pearls of wisdom from the "Oracle" of Bok rugby

During the 1970s and 80s England placed a ban on Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams. Every word escaping his lips was censored and now in South Africa, some Springbok fans have called for this type of gagging of their rugby union coach, Peter De Villiers, aka ''The Voice''.

When I think of wacky comments I first think of Henry Blofeld - an English cricket commentator who's celebrated for his idiosyncratic mentioning of superfluous detail during and after games - but my list of one-liner wonders has rapidly rocketed past Ali G, Borat and George W Bush to Springbok rugby coach//clown De Villiers.

I think he's watched one Matrix film too many and believes he's The Oracle. The man is the Don Quixote of rugby union and the wind he's churned up in his daft interviews is creating quite a stink in rugby circles.

Here are some pearls of wisdom from the ''Oracle'' of Bok rugby...

Div comments 'pathetic'

Div: I don't give a damn

Springbok coach Peter de Villiers on Monday described himself as "a God-given talent" in reply to a question on how he viewed the increasing media criticism.

Near-antagonism in recent weeks against De Villiers culminated in a mandate to SARU to meet with the coach about his attitude towards the media.

When told at Monday's media conference that many people regarded him as the weakest link in the Springbok team set-up, De Villiers answered :

"I'm not disappointed in them. I don't need to react to opinions, but if I am the weakest link then we are bloody strong.

"I'm a God-given talent. I know what I am and don't give a damn what other people think."

Early on in the interview, De Villiers defended Springbok flank Schalk Burger who has been suspended for eight weeks following an eye-gouging incident in the second Test at Loftus.

He said he knew Burger's nature and character and that the suspended flanker was more physical than any other rugby player but wouldn't go to those lengths (of eye-gouging).

"I don't think he did it," he said," and I don't want to say anything (outside what they had decided as a team).

"It is not something (the eye-gouging) that he did on purpose, when he saw it he was like 'ooh, aah'. He had never intended to go into the eye."

He said the Springboks will wait for the judicial report, and "dissect the whole thing, come to you with the facts", adding that he knew Burger and that what the footage showed was not worth a card.

Once the report is received, the Springboks will decide as a team what is best for them (regarding a possible appeal).

When asked whether he condoned eye-gouging, De Villiers said:

"You must understand clearly rugby is a contact sport. If you really know the game and dissect it you'll see all sorts of malicious and off the ball incidents. In this game, people sometimes get away with it.

"If you're not up to the contact why not go to a ballet shop and buy a tutu?

"In this game there will be collisions, and the guys who're the hardest will win the collisions and will be selected."

De Villiers said that no matter how much people now focus on the negatives of the match, South Africa have won the series and "no one can take it away from us."

Div must explain comments

Peter de Villiers will meet with South African Rugby Union (SARU) president Oregan Hoskins to discuss the Springbok coach's recent statements that were reported in the media.

The South African and travelling overseas media were taken a back by some of De Villiers's comments that followed the first Test in Durban.

A statement issued by SA Rugby on Saturday said the management committee of SARU was on Friday mandated by Hoskins to meet with De Villiers to discuss recent statements attributed to him.

"The management committee was unanimous in its concern over the racial connotations used by de Villiers in discussing the performance of scrumhalf Ricky Januarie," the statement concludes.

De Villiers' most recent remark that left journalists aghast was at the feedback press conference last Monday. Two days after the first Test, De Villiers was questioned about his decision to replace Fourie du Preez with the out-of-form Januarie.

"I'm not concerned about his form, he may have made a blunder but so did a few other players,"

he said in reply to a question why he had fielded Januarie.

"What I learned in South Africa is, if you take your car to a garage and the owner is black or a black man, and they mess it up, you never go back to that garage. If the owner is white, you say ag, sorry, they made a mistake and you go back again. This is how some people live their lives in this country."