Peter de Villiers was born on the 3rd of June 1957 and has enjoyed success at every level he has coached and won nine from 13 Tests in his first season as Springbok coach in 2008. He coached amateur club Tygerberg in 1996 and 1997, and the Western Province Disas in 1997. In 1998, he enjoyed his first major appointments as assistant coach for Western Province in the Currie Cup and also the South Africa national under-19 side, which he took to third in the 1999 Under 19 Rugby World Championship.

Peter took the Falcons through the 2002 and 2003 Currie Cup campaigns before going on to coach the South Africa national under-21 rugby union team between 2004 and 2006. In the 2004 Under 21 Rugby World Championship, South Africa finished third, but won in 2005 and came second in 2006. In 2007, De Villiers was appointed coach of the Emerging Springboks and led them to the title of the 2007 Nations Cup. Previously he coached the SA U19s in 1998, a year in which they remained unbeaten, and in 1999. He also served as assistant coach to Nick Mallett with the Boks in 1997. De Villiers has a Level 3 coaching qualification that he obtained through Western Province and the Welsh Rugby Union.

He lives in Paarl and in his free time enjoys spending time with his wife and family, watching comedies and listening to jazz. From a personality perspective Peter is a devout Christian and has a great sense of humour which is probably why he gets on so well with his coaching staff of assistant Springbok Coaches Dick Muir and Gary Gold, who both have a great sense of humour.