The former South Africa captain Corne Krige has decried the "political" process that led to the appointment of Peter de Villiers as Springboks national-team coach.

De Villiers became the first black head coach of the Springboks last week after the South Africa Rugby Union had reportedly asked Super-14-winning coach Heyneke Meyer to withdraw his application.

According to reports in the Johannesburg-based Sunday Times newspaper, Meyer was subsequently told that he had been the superior candidate, and would be offered an as yet unspecified role with the SARU.

Krige, speaking in his column in the Afrikaans paper Sondag, dismissed the decision to overlook Meyer in favour of De Villiers as "illogical". "I was in a meeting Wednesday and I saw a message on my phone from a good friend telling me about the appointment," Krige wrote. "I didn't know if I should laugh or cry. For me there was only one logical choice to succeed Jake White as Springbok coach and that was Heyneke Meyer." De Villiers, 50, has considerable success as coach of the Emerging Springboks and led the South African Under-21 side to the world title in 2006, although Krige considers Meyer to be by far the superior candidate.

"Let me put it this way: coach A and coach B are up for a position," added Krige. "Coach A has won internationally at Under-21 level, but has no Currie Cup or Super 14 experience. He currently is helping out at Stellenbosch university.

"Coach B has three Currie Cup titles and a Super 14 title. Above this, 70% of the players in the country want him as coach. If you need to make a rugby decision, then it is logical that coach B is the answer. But if you need to make a political choice, then coach A is the answer. Coach A is Peter De Villiers and B Heyneke Meyer - this is precisely what happened this week."