Wherever Jake White went, there used to be a circus. Politics pervaded most of the press conferences under Jake White, with many of his press conferences spiky affairs as he defendeed himself from his detractors and back-stabbers.
Wherever Peter de Villiers goes there are fun and games as well, but no longer for political reasons.
His press conferences are marked with language of great colour, entirely idiosyncratic idioms and analogies, self-contradictions of epic proportions, and often with slightly bemused looks from those brave enough to take the top table with him.
So never ones to miss a couple of moments of mirth, here are a few choice 'De Villierisms' from the past few weeks. Enjoy!
"What we try to tell them is when you point your finger into the sky, don't concentrate on the finger because you'll miss all the heavenly glory out there." - On telling his players to enjoy life.
"So we will be aware of the threats they can pose to us but, then again, it's war and you die." - On Australia's (slightly over-stated) likely aggression in Perth.
"The laws are there and we are law-abiding citizens of South Africa and we will never over-step anything." - On the Boks playing to the referee.
"Now we have to go out there and do it ourselves and maybe it is going to be not too good for the two teams if they take the law into their own hands, if it is not being officiated the way that we want it to go." - Two minutes later, on the referee playing to the Boks.
"We are playing the Tri-Nations under the Experimental Law Variations. With respect to the Welsh, what do South Africans see as the biggest challenge this year, the most important games for the Boks? I think you can answer that question for yourself. Everyone wants us to beat New Zealand, we play them twice in New Zealand during the Tri-Nations," - On the importance of the friendly series with Wales.
"Test rugby is war. We're going back to the trenches. We have to build a side that will die for the country." - On preparations for a friendly series against Wales of hitherto secondary importance.
"My preparations for the Springbok team are secondary. It's about what the country wants." - On being happy with his squad depth.
"A lot of guys put up their hands and I want to make it clear that the Springbok door is not shut to anyone." - On leaving out players from his first Springbok squad.
"There is a time to come and a time to go. I am looking to the next four years, and some people may find that their time to go is earlier than expected." - One week later, on leaving out players from his first Springbok team.
"Either you can give him the opportunity to play himself into form or he can take the opportunity to play himself out of form because players always want to be the best and they can push themselves too far." - On...erm... something to do with squad rotation.
"Let me tell you one thing today: We are a team with mission. We want to be the team of the people. What a lot of us have learnt is that you can't find luck somewhere. To take luck with you wherever you go. And we want to be gelikige (in Afrikaans "happy" and "lucky" can be the same word). We want to take it with us so that it can be spread to the whole of South Africa." - On the campaign trail, apparently.
"Even if you're playing a game on the moon, if you have the skills and you play well, you will win." - On choosing the right team for the right time.
"I am a very competitive person, I can't play a card game and not be competitive. There is nothing friendly about what I do." - On trying to be the best (said with a big warm smile).
"The fact is, they were so spoon-fed by the previous regime. Now we are asking them to think a bit, it is a culture shock for them. They are scared to make decisions because they have been so spoilt. Everything was there, they didn't have to decide on anything. They didn't take the blame for anything." - On his new-look team's failure to respond to recent setbacks.
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