Often in the past this country's rugby authorities have been criticised - and rightly so - for running the game like a closed shop, but with the Springbok coach's announcement, there has been transparency and clarity.

Reasons for choosing Peter de Villiers have clearly been explained. The transformation issue wasn't swept under the carpet (like some dirty word) and rugby fans who needed to understand SARU's rationale were told. It was all pretty straightforward and there were no excuses.

How they eventually arrived at their final decision was an internal matter, and although it has been leaked and is interesting at what a close contest it turned out to be, there really was no need to explain it. Had de Villiers lost, there would not have been and since he has won there still isn’t because although the unfortunate Heyneke Meyer was pipped by the narrowest of margins, the winner in this instance was clearly the majority choice.

Only time will tell whether de Villiers can deliver. It does worry me though that he only has a two year contract, as it would have been a greater vote of confidence had he been tasked with taking the Boks through to the next World Cup in 2011. But then SARU need to protect themselves, and have played it clever - this way it won't cost as much to pay him out should things ever go sour.

Initial impressions suggest that Jake White's successor is a man straight out of the Jake White mould. Like his predecessor, he too has enjoyed success with the Baby Boks; like White he also never coached a Super 14 side and he admits that he is ready to pick up the ball from White and to run with it. De Villiers has already told 702 that he there is no point in "reinventing the wheel", he'll take what White has left behind and add his own flavour to ensure continuity and consistency.

So who is Peter de Villiers and what are his credentials?

Well he is a fifty years old who played at scrumhalf for Boland and Griquas in the old SARU prior to unification. His coaching career kicked off with Cape Town side Tygerberg in 1996 and on the provincial scene he has coached Western Province Disas and the Falcons. He was also an assistant at Province during the ‘98 Vodacom Cup season.

At national level he guided the Bok Under-19’s to 3rd place at the ’99 World championships - but went one better at under 21 level, winning it in 2005. He was also a runner up in ‘06 and enjoyed a third place finish in his first season with them in 2004.

Last year De Villiers won an IRB Emerging Teams World Cup in Romania. So he has a similar pedigree to White's, now let’s wait and watch to see if he can enjoy a similar level of success.

He need look no further than White’s own story, In Black and White for inspiration, as his predecessor showed absolute confidence in those that he backed and they rewarded him with absolute conviction. White paid meticulous attention to detail, his planning and preparation was thorough and he combined this country’s star players, its emerging talent and some wise old heads into a potent unit that achieved world dominance.

Although the system may have conspired to work against, he used it to make it work for him. De Villiers has been given a recipe, and it's a winning one. Now to see what he does with it.

The views expressed herein are those of the author and not Primedia Broadcasting.