De Villiers, however, has countered those claims by a statement on his Facebook account and sharing photos of his coaching certificate.
He wrote: “It is with great concern that it has been stated on talk radio 702 on the sports show (at 16:30 on 29 July 2019), that I do not have a Level 3 coaching certificate.
“This is unfortunate and deliberately designed by various media channels to continue to malign me and prevent me from succeeding in my current interview process with the Kings.
“Attached is confirmation of my certificate which was verified before I coached the Springboks. As a matter of fact I attained my International Level 3 coaching certificate in 1997 in Wales, kind regards Coach Peter De Villiers.”
On Tuesday afternoon, Kings chair Loyiso Dotwana released a statement on the coaching issue.
“The Kings Board has noticed the widespread and largely inaccurate speculations in the media regarding the ongoing process of appointing a new Head Coach for the franchise.
“We can confirm that proceedings continue to progress in an orderly, confidential and professional manner.
“An interviewing panel was appointed to interview candidates for the Head Coach position and to make recommendations to the Kings Board. While the job advertisement for the vacant position called for a candidate with a World Rugby Level 3 qualification, as per minimum requirement for all elite coaches, and experience at the highest level, it was discovered that only one of the candidates that were interviewed had the required qualifications.
“Notwithstanding the above, following the completion of the process of interviews, the interviewing panel ranked the candidates in terms of their technical capacity for the job.
“We can confirm that the interviewing panel has sent their scores and rankings to the Chairman of the Board, Mr Loyiso Dotwana, who intends to present these recommendations at the next Board meeting before a final decision is made. An official announcement will be made at the appropriate time once all contractual negotiations have been completed.
“As previously stated, we continue to treat the entire process with strict confidentiality and sensitivity.”
Peter de Villiers hits back at critics while Southern Kings have their say
Angry former Springbok coach Peter de Villiers has hit back at claims that he does not possess the required World Rugby Level 3 coaching certificate required to coach the Isuzu Southern Kings.
The coach affectionately known as “PDivvy" and "Snorre” has claimed there have been attempts to malign him and prevent him from succeeding in his interview process with the Kings.
The bid to find a new coach has been mired in controversy since former Bok Nick Mallett declined to be part of it the process after his inclusion drew criticism from EPRU deputy president and Kings board member Bantwini Matika.
A succession of leaks has resulted in the process to find a replacement for Deon Davids being conducted under the gaze of public scrutiny.
It is believed that the race to be crowned as the new Kings coach is between De Villiers and New Zealander Steve Jackson, who is also the Samoan World Cup coach.
One of the requirements for the coaching post is that the new man must possess a World Rugby Level 3 qualification.
Over the past few days there have been claims that De Villiers could be ruled out of contention because he does not fulfil the requirements despite coaching the Springboks.
De Villiers, however, has countered those claims by a statement on his Facebook account and sharing photos of his coaching certificate.
He wrote: “It is with great concern that it has been stated on talk radio 702 on the sports show (at 16:30 on 29 July 2019), that I do not have a Level 3 coaching certificate.
“This is unfortunate and deliberately designed by various media channels to continue to malign me and prevent me from succeeding in my current interview process with the Kings.
“Attached is confirmation of my certificate which was verified before I coached the Springboks. As a matter of fact I attained my International Level 3 coaching certificate in 1997 in Wales, kind regards Coach Peter De Villiers.”
On Tuesday afternoon, Kings chair Loyiso Dotwana released a statement on the coaching issue.
“The Kings Board has noticed the widespread and largely inaccurate speculations in the media regarding the ongoing process of appointing a new Head Coach for the franchise.
“We can confirm that proceedings continue to progress in an orderly, confidential and professional manner.
“An interviewing panel was appointed to interview candidates for the Head Coach position and to make recommendations to the Kings Board. While the job advertisement for the vacant position called for a candidate with a World Rugby Level 3 qualification, as per minimum requirement for all elite coaches, and experience at the highest level, it was discovered that only one of the candidates that were interviewed had the required qualifications.
“Notwithstanding the above, following the completion of the process of interviews, the interviewing panel ranked the candidates in terms of their technical capacity for the job.
“We can confirm that the interviewing panel has sent their scores and rankings to the Chairman of the Board, Mr Loyiso Dotwana, who intends to present these recommendations at the next Board meeting before a final decision is made. An official announcement will be made at the appropriate time once all contractual negotiations have been completed.
“As previously stated, we continue to treat the entire process with strict confidentiality and sensitivity.”
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Latest Videos
Most Read
Sport
Soccer
Pages
Cricket
Rugby