Springbok rugby coach Peter de Villiers has been told to "sober up" by the South African Minister of Sport and Recreation Makhenkesi Stofile.
Stofile says that when De Villiers makes making press statements as he has done his words may come back to haunt him.
Stofile said that he liked De Villiers very much and knew him as a good rugby player from his playing days in Boland, but the Minister suggested that the more the Springbok coach opened his mouth and talked the more confused he gets.
De Villiers had been presenting himself lately as a spokesperson of the game of rugby.
"The role of the coach is to prepare the team," said Stofile.
"The role of the spokesperson is to represent the union."
Stofile pointed out that De Villiers would only be able to get away with making the statements he has done while the Springboks were still winning.
"When we are losing it will be a serious problem." he told the Daily News.
"He will be the first to be fired.
"Coaches get fired for teams not performing, not because they are not doing their job."
The Springboks start their TriNations campaign on the 25th of July against the All Blacks in Bloemfontein.
The last time they played the All Blacks was in round six of the 2008 TriNations in Cape Town and lost 0-19.[/b]
