Heyneke Meyer at the Leicester Tigers

While a large amount of attention was on the controversial Springbok coach Pieter De Villiers throughout the Tri Nations, there is one man who possibly could have been sitting in the hot seat if it weren't for a few, dare I say it, politically motivated decisions.

Heyneke Meyer narrowly missed out on taking over from Jake White despite being the frontrunner for the job. His success rate when coaching the Bulls speaks for itself, winning four Currie Cups and the first ever Super 14 title for a South African side in 2007.

But now, South Africa's loss is Leicester's gain, as Meyer, who initially hinted at leaving rugby altogether, has taken up the head coaching role with the Guinness Premiership finalists of last season, replacing Argentinian Marcelo Loffreda.

With Meyer at the helm, the Tigers couldn't have had a better start to the season as this past weekend they defeated Gloucester by twenty points to eight at Kingsholm.

"We always knew it would be tough. We knew Gloucester would come out firing and that we would have to get stuck in and show some attitude.

"Our fitness levels showed and I was very happy with the defence. Gloucester had a lot of opportunities out wide but we defended well."

The win puts Meyer and the club in good stead for the rest of the season, and is the perfect start for the man from Pretoria who has so much to offer.

This interview gives great insight into Meyer himself, and we hear from some of the players about the feeling in the camp and what the season holds.


Time: 04:28

Posted at 9:59 am | 6 comments

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