South Africa coach Peter de Villiers has attempted to sidestep a racism row after Craig Dowd described him as a "puppet".
De Villiers refuses to class 'puppet' jibe as racist
South Africa coach Peter de Villiers has attempted to sidestep a racism row after Craig Dowd described him as a "puppet".
Former New Zealand prop Dowd has angered the Springboks following a controversial interview when he claimed de Villiers, the first non-white South Africa coach, was nothing more than a figurehead and questioned his rugby knowledge.
Dowd said in the radio interview ahead of the Tri-Nations clash in Dunedin: "While the Springboks have some good staff, De Villiers is merely a puppet."
And although the South African Rugby Union are demanding an apology from Dowd, de Villiers has refused to describe the comments as racist.
"I don't know Craig Dowd. The closest I got to him was my TV in my sitting room. I don't know if he ever saw me or if he knows me. It's quite stupid to make a call like that," De Villiers said.
"I don't know what his agenda is, if it is racism or not.
Ill-informed
"In South Africa racism is a big thing and in other countries it's really big too. So maybe, I don't know, you can ask him that."
SARU chairman Mpumelelo Tshume has already
demanded Dowd make a public apology for his comments - claiming the comments are "comically ill-informed".
The appointment of de Villiers in January was classed as controversial - with SARU president Oregan Hoskins admitting at the time that de Villiers was not picked for rugby reasons alone.
Former Bulls coach Heyneke Meyer had been the clear favourite to replace Jake White, only for Boks Under-21 coach de Villiers to get the nod.
