Springbok coach Peter de Villiers' propensity for biblical references is coming back to haunt him, as the Australasian media has seen fit to mock him over his references to the Bible.

De Villiers is now being described as 'eccentric', after likening his situation to that of Jesus Christ, when he discussed the public criticism heaped on him in recent weeks.

De Villiers couldn't resist a swipe at his critics following his side's record 53-8 Tri-Nations win over the Wallabies in Johannesburg at the weekend — even though it was only his second win in six matches in the tournament and still left his team last on the standings.

Unpatriotic public

The Bok coach, in reference to the South African public and media criticism of him, claimed they are unpatriotic and compared his plight to that of Jesus Christ.

It is the latter part of his remarks which really got the international media — especially those in Australia and New Zealand — going.

De Villiers, who is not fluent in English and often gets things lost in 'translation', may not have meant it, but the media made a huge issue of him likening himself to Jesus Christ.

"If they can become patriotic and believe in what's happening in South Africa and not look for their honey outside of the borders and offer support [rather] than stomping on people who gave them hours and hours of joy last year and this year, we as a nation will grow much better," De Villiers said of his detractors.

"We didn't go out there to show them that they were wrong, we went out there to exactly showcase our talents and the belief that we do have in ourselves."

Colourful press conferences

De Villiers, who was not happy that he was loudly booed after his side lost 15-27 to the Wallabies in Durban the previous week, has become well known for his colourful press conferences.

"The same people who threw their robes on the ground when Jesus rode on a donkey were the same people who crowned him and hit him with sticks and stuff like that, and were the same people who said afterwards how we shouldn't have done that, he's the son of God," de Villiers said.

"So that's exactly what we do. You have to look at history is repeating itself, and I'm not saying that I'm God."

365